Lethal Hornet, Timid Healer
by ExodineTheDestroyer
Summary: After surviving a near fatal Arrancar attack, Soifon finds herself in the 4th Squad Clinic with the timid Hanataro serving as her nurse. Though initially annoyed by his presence Soifon develops a curiousity for the healer, even after she leaves his care.
1. Ambush

_**Lethal Hornet, Timid Healer**_

**Disclaimer:**

**I don't own the rights to anything related to the anime **_**Bleach**_

**The rights to that anime belong to…other people…**

_**

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_**Chapter 1: Ambush**_

Beep…

Beep…

Beep…

That was all she could hear in this pitch black world. Its monotony made her feel sick.

Beep…

Beep…

Beep…

She tried moving her hands only to have them twitch slightly as they recognized what felt like cloth. She tried moving her arms and legs, but they felt weighed down as if they were made iron. She even tried wiggling her toes, feeling some satisfaction and relief as she felt them move slightly.

"Where am I," she asked herself, her eyes still exposed to utter darkness, "Am I…dead?"

The thought frightened her somewhat, though she found it ironic that a being of death would fear death. Pausing for a moment, she attempted to gather her memory.

"I was…on a mission…" she slowly began, "And then…I was ambushed by a hollow…no it was a…"

Beep, beep, beep…

The monotonous sound increased its pace as the word "_Arrancar" _suddenly flashed into her mind, her fists balling up as she linked the word to public enemy number 1: _Sosuke Aizen_, the man who betrayed the Soul Society. A frustrated growl escaped her as she remembered the carnage Aizen's lackey created.

"Damn it," she yelled, "I should never have let my guard down…"

She paused for a moment as someone's yelping filled her ears, followed by a "thunk" sound when a chair suddenly made contact with the floor. She could hear the scurrying of footsteps, one set, followed by the opening and closing of a door.

"Someone else was here…" she thought to herself, coming back to wondering where 'here' is. She attempted to shift around on the surface she was laying on, feeling more cloth underneath her, "This is obviously a bed…"

The word 'bed' created several unpleasant scenarios in her mind. "A bed…I could be…" she shuddered, as a feeling of vulnerability came over her.

"Don't worry…"

She heard a muffled voice, obviously female, reassure someone before she heard the sound of a door opening.

"Are you awake, Soifon?"

"That voice…" Soifon thought to herself as she slowly forced her eyes open, spotting Captain Unohana. She stared at the Captain for a moment, before examining her surroundings, and pieced together that she was being hospitalized. Her attention returned to Unohana again and she caught sight of the bluish-black haired boy standing behind her.

He timidly glanced up at the 2nd Squad Captain, locking eyes with her briefly, before quickly turning his sights to the white floor and fidgeting his fingers.

"I'm glad to see you're okay," Unohana smiled with relief.

"I feel terrible…" Soifon replied, attempting to sit up only to have a pain surge throughout her body that caused her to drop back onto her bed.

"Hanataro…" Unohana began, catching the boy's attention, "Would you kindly allow me to speak with Captain Soifon in private?"

Hanataro nodded slightly before quietly exiting the room, leaving the two captains alone.

"…Am I…the only one…" Soifon sadly asked, receiving a nod from the Captain. Soifon clenched her fists as she looked away from Unohana, "…And the Arrancar…"

"It escaped and completely avoided detection after it attacked your group. The 5th Squad members who found your group couldn't detect even the slightest trace of its spiritual pressure," Unohana answered, sensing the anger building up in her colleague.

"Damn it…Why didn't I see it coming…" Soifon growled, once again attempting to sit up only to meet with the same results as the first time. "When I find that…ugh…"

"There's no point in blaming yourself for something like this," Unohana informed the injured Captain as she approached her bedside, gently placing her hand on the woman's shoulder. "And you should focus more on recovering, rather than revenge."

"But…" Soifon tried to argue only to receive one of Unohana's 'looks,' calming her down, "F-fine…"

"Good," Unohana smiled triumphantly. "Now, make sure to get plenty of rest and try not to move around too much, otherwise you'll end up reopening your wounds," she added before heading towards the exit.

"W-wait, Captain Unohana," Soifon called out, "…How long will I be here for?"

"Until I say so," Unohana smiled, receiving a somewhat distressed look from Soifon, "But don't worry, I'm sure Hanataro will be able to help you pass some time."

"Hanataro?"

"Yes, the boy who was with me just a few minutes ago," Unohana replied as she headed out of the room, "He'll be your caretaker from now on."

Soifon quietly watched as the door closed behind the Captain and forced herself to sit up. "Hanataro…Caretaker…" Soifon mumbled, frowning, "I don't need a caretaker…It's not like I'm some defenseless chi-"

"Oh, and one more thing," Unohana rang as she poked her head into Soifon's room, causing the 2nd Squad Captain to nearly jump out of her skin, "If you try to escape before I give you the 'okay'…"

"I-I won't…" Soifon replied, not wanting Unohana to finish her sentence.

"That's good," Unohana smiled before finally leaving.

Soifon waited for a few seconds before letting out a relieved sigh. She knew, as well as all the other Captains of the Gotei 13, that while Unohana is 99% of the time a kind and gentle person, she wasn't in anyway someone to be trifled with. "She is one scary woman…" she muttered, glancing at her bandaged arms.

But that _is_ one of the reasons Soifon admires her.

Soifon's ears perked up at the timid sound of two knocks on her door. "…Come in…" she called out, prompting the door to slowly open as the boy from before stuck his head in, "Oh…It's _you_…Do you need anything?"

"A-actually…I was wondering if _you_ needed anything, Captain Soifon…" he timidly answered, trying not to look directly at her. "Th-that's all…"

"No…" Soifon bluntly replied, stunning the boy. She paused for a moment and locked eyes with him, "You're Hanataro, aren't you?"

Hanataro nodded slightly, "Yes…Captain Unohana assigned me to overlook your recovery and-"

"I don't need a babysitter," Soifon mumbled loud enough for him to hear, "And I…"

Soifon and Hanataro, judging by the look on his face, felt an uncomfortable amount of spiritual pressure fill the room, followed by Unohana's third appearance.

"Hanataro, I'll need you to help out with a few Squad 11 members in the western ward. But don't forget to check on Captain Soifon after you're done."

"Yes, Ma'am," Hanataro nodded as he exited the room.

"Oh, and Soifon," Unohana began as soon as Hanataro was out of hearing range, "Hanataro will be dispensing medicine to you on an hourly basis, so you two play nice."

Soifon watched as the Captain once again took her leave and let out a small sigh.

"This should be a fun vacation…"

_**-An hour later-**_

Soifon was silently lying on her side, contemplating what she'd do when she found the Arrancar who killed her subordinates and left her for dead.

"One thing's for sure…" Soifon grumbled, "That Arrancar isn't going to be walking awa-"

Knock…knock…

Soifon let out a small sigh, refusing to give Hanataro permission to enter in hopes that he would go away. That obviously didn't work as he quietly entered the room anyways.

"C-Captain Soifon," he timidly whispered. She pretended to be asleep and closed her eyes, mentally wishing for the boy to leave. Instead of heeding her wish, he tip-toed closer and watched her 'sleep'.

Soifon actually felt a little violated, but that violation was replaced by a prideful rage when, unfortunately for him, Soifon heard Hanataro mumble: "She's so…cute…" The Captain's eyes shot open and she immediately sat up to glare at the boy, causing him to jump nearly ten feet in the air.

"Cute? What do you think is 'cute'?"

"N-nothing, I-I didn't say anything, honest," Hanataro exclaimed, waving his hands in front of him, "I was just…just…just coming t-to give you your medicine…"

He then pulled a vial with a skull on it from his uniform, to prove his point. A wary look appeared on Soifon's face as she looked the vial over. "Are you sure that stuff's okay to drink," she questioned the boy as he pulled out a spoon.

"Oh, it's safe to drink, otherwise Captain Unohana wouldn't have told me to give it to you," Hanataro answered, relaxing a bit.

He carefully poured some of the light red liquid into the spoon and attempted to raise it to Soifon's face. "I'll do it myself…" she stated in an irritated tone. She attempted to move her pain stricken arms to grab the spoon, but they refused to listen and remained at her sides. "…Then again…I guess it couldn't hurt to let you do this _once_," she mumbled, a bit sheepishly.

Hanataro smiled slightly, only to wipe it away at the threat of Soifon's glare. He gently raised the spoon to Soifon's lips. She hesitated for a moment and she glanced up at the healer while asking again whether or not he was sure the 'medicine' was safe. He nodded and she finally took the spoon's contents into her mouth.

The medicine was sweet, a _really_ good sweet, though she didn't let that fact register on her face. "…Are we done here…" she bluntly asked, saddening Hanataro, "Because if we are…"

Hanataro nodded slightly before taking his leave, "W-would you like me to turn the lights off?"

"No…"

He didn't say anything and respectfully left the captain's presence.

Soifon sighed as she lied back down on her bed and pulled her covers closer to her. It wasn't that she didn't like Hanataro; it's just that she hated the vulnerability she felt as a result of the condition she was in.

Also, to have someone of a lower rank look after her the way Hanataro is assigned to do added to her feeling of vulnerability.

"But that medicine was good…" she mumbled before licking her lips.

_**-About one month later-**_

Over the few weeks she had been in the hospital, Soifon had developed an acquaintanceship with Hanataro, though the boy was still very shy in her presence. He had, however, become a tad bit more comfortable with her as time passed.

In fact, when it was time for her to leave Soifon almost didn't want to go, though she wasn't sure why.

"But…" Soifon thought aloud as she slammed down a big red stamp on yet another document before placing it aside and reaching for a new one. "Someone has to deal with all this paper work and I certainly can't trust Omaeda to do it…"

She paused for a moment and slowly examined the paper in her hand, placing the red stamp aside. "…Ugh, another delivery error…This is for Unohana's squad, not mine…" she sighed, "I should hurry and send this to her."

Soifon paused for another moment and smirked slightly.

"I should deliver this to her personally," she thought as she moved from her work desk and exited her room, "It _will _get to her faster that way…"

She reflexively smiled as she locked the door behind her and tucked its key safely in her pocket. "Besides, I should probably check to see how Taro's doing…"


	2. Advice and Development

_**Lethal Hornet, Timid Healer**_

**Disclaimer:**

**I don't own the rights to anything related to the anime **_**Bleach**_

**The rights to that anime belong to…other people…**

_**

* * *

**_

_**Chapter 2: Advice and Development**_

Soifon casually made her way out of the 2nd Squad headquarters, occasionally encountering some of her subordinates who, of course, greeted her with proper respect. For some odd reason it felt strange, though she's been addressed in such formal manners for so long. Shrugging the thought away, she continued towards her destination.

"Hey, Captain Soifon," a gruff, familiar voice called out to her. She halted her progress and turned to face the tall man behind her.

"Hello, Lieutenant Omaeda…" she greeted her subordinate with an air of authority. He stared at her for awhile, cocking an eyebrow, as though something was wrong. As seconds passed, Soifon grew irritated by his stare, "What? Do you have something else to say?"

"No…uuhhh…it's just that you seem…"

"Seem what," she impatiently asked as Omaeda scratched his head nervously.

"Well…you seem…happy," he replied in an unsure tone.

"Happy," she questioned, taken aback by the answer, "And by that you mean?"

"Well, usually you'd tear my head off for 'disrespectfully addressing a Captain,' and you just seem a bit more cheerful…I guess you finally got a boyfri-"

"Don't you have some paperwork to do," Soifon 'reminded' Omaeda, glaring angrily at him.

"O-oh yeah! That's right," Omaeda 'remembered,' quickly taking his leave, "See ya later, Captain!"

She watched as he ran off in the opposite direction, eventually disappearing around a corner. Silently, she vowed to deal with him later before continuing her walk. How dare he talk so nonchalantly to her like that?

"Happy…tch…so what if I am…" she mumbled to herself. "And who does he think he is asking me about my boyfriend…I mean n-not that I have one or can't get one, but…" She paused and shook her head at the fact that she was defending herself from herself.

The 4th Squad Headquarters soon came into vision and Soifon casually stepped inside. Looking around at the building's white walls and light green tiled floors filled the Captain with a sense of nostalgia. She walked past the reception desk, obtaining a few greetings from the Squad 4 members stationed there, and made her way through the medical ward.

The relative quietness of her walk was eventually interrupted by a loud thump, followed by a familiar yelp. Soifon increased her pace, rounding the corner to see a fallen broom and Hanataro being held by his uniform and pressed against a wall by two Soul Reapers, both of whom obviously belonged to Kenpachi's squad.

Soifon watched for a second, remembering the first time she had seen Hanataro in a situation like this.

_**-Flashback: Soifon's hospital room-**_

Soifon was lying in her bed, quietly contemplating what went wrong the day she was sent here. She shifted slightly, attempting to find a more comfortable position before finally inching out of bed. For several minutes, she slowly paced around the room, her bare feet shivering as they hit the cold floor.

"How could I let something like that happen…letting that Arrancar's spiritual pressure slip past me…" she wondered, clasping her stomach as a sharp pain filled it. "And where is that boy-"

"Bu-but that's not really my decision!"

Soifon turned her head to the door behind her, recognizing the voice to be Hanataro's. She cocked an eyebrow at his tone, wondering what was happening out there.

"Listen up, Hana," a gruff voice threatened, "We're sick and tired of being fed the same foul tasting crap everyday!"

"Yeah," another, more pathetic sounding, voice agreed.

"Really? Most people like our fo-"

"Well _we_ don't! And you better start giving us some real food or else…" the gruff voice interrupted in a menacing tone.

Soifon, irritated at her thinking process being interrupted, casually forced open the door. A loud sound resonated through the hallways as a result and another yelp was heard. She slowly walked out of her room, her hands behind her back and held there with an air of authority, turning right and spotting Hanataro and a 11th Squad member with the latter holding a fist to the former's face. The gruff man's mouth shot wide open at the sight of Soifon and he began to quiver under her irritated glare.

"Do you care to explain what you're doing?"

"Uh-oh, well, I was just…suggesting…to my good friend Hanataro a change in the menu…" the gruff man replied in more of a question format. He looked at his raised fist and quickly hid it, letting Hanataro go in the process.

"Really," Soifon questioned sarcastically, "Because it seemed to me as though you were threatening that squad member…" She pointed directly at Hanataro, never diverting her glare from the man, "And I'm sure you wouldn't want Captain Unohana to think that way too, do you?"

"N-no, Captain Soifon."

"I didn't think so. Now, you're going to go back to your room and if I catch you doing something like this again, I won't hesitate to 'deal' with you myself…and you wouldn't want that to happen, would you?"

"No, Captain!"

Soifon and Hanataro watched as the man quickly ran down the hallway, disappearing around a corner. Soifon turned her attention towards the boy, staring at him with underlying tenderness. He turned to look at her, bravely locking eyes with her for a few seconds before averting his stare to the floor in embarrassment.

"Th-thank you, Captain Soifon…"

"The noise you were making bothered me," she bluntly replied, turning her back on him.

"Oh…still…thank you, Captain," Hanataro repeated in a sad tone. Soifon glanced over her shoulder at him, quietly saying "You're welcome," before heading back into her room.

"…You should start standing up for yourself…" she mumbled loud enough for him to hear, "Because I'm not going to help you next time…"

Hanataro stared at her for the brief seconds she was still insight and nodded slightly. She glanced over at him one last time before shutting the door behind her, revealing the other man who was harassing Hanataro as he peeled off the wall Soifon imbedded him in.

_**-Present day-**_

Soifon let out a small sigh before rounding the corner and revealing herself to the group. The three men stopped whatever they were doing and looked at her, fear rising in the stomach of Hanataro's harassers.

"You again," Soifon glared at the gruff 11th Squad member, who promptly ran away followed by the other one, "Tch…I swear, Zaraki needs to keep those idiots on a leash…"

"Oh, hello, Captain Soifon," Hanataro greeted the woman, taking a modest bow as if nothing had happened just a few moments ago, "…Are you injured?"

"No…" she replied, realizing his want to avoid talking about what just happened.

"Oh, then what brings you here today?"

"I'm here to deliver some documents to Captain Unohana…but I'm sort of lost…" she paused for a moment, wonder why she'd make up such a lie, "Perhaps, if nothing is currently on your agenda, you could escort me to her office?"

Hanataro was taken aback by this request, which seemed more like a demand, and blushed. "U-uh, sur-I mean, yes ma'am-I mean no, there's nothing that I have to do right now," Hanataro finally answered, "I'd be glad to take you to Captain Unohana…"

"Thank you," Soifon replied, following after the boy.

He quietly led her through the various hallways of the building, the only sound coming from the contact made between their shoes and the floor. Hanataro occasionally glanced at the Captain, a feeling of nervousness taking over when he took into account who he was dealing with.

"How have things been?"

"Oh! Th-they've been just fine, Captain," he replied, blushing slightly, "Nothing's changed dramatically since your last visit here."

"Did you miss me?"

"Wha-what," Hanataro exclaimed, stammering as a million thoughts fluttered through his head, "Well, I-I, yes…but-I mean that-I do and all-but I mean we-Uh-um-no that's not it…" He continued this for a few more seconds, a smile of amusement forming on Soifon's face.

"There's no need to get so flustered," she mused before realizing her informal behavior and returning to her usual demeanor, "It makes communication with others difficult…"

"Oh…yes…you're right…" Hanataro replied, calming down a bit. He once again led her towards Unohana's office, an awkward silence hanging over them until they reached it, "Here it is."

"Thank you for taking me here."

"You're w-welcome, Captain Soifon…Is there anything else you'd like me to do?"

A few things popped in her mind, but she quickly dismissed them, letting the boy leave. She turned her attention to the door in front of her, extending her hand and tapping it three times. Unohana's voice gave her permission to enter, revealing an average looking office room with a wooden desk. Sitting behind it was Unohana, a warm smile on her face as she stamped a few documents and placed them in two of three stacks of papers on her desk.

"Hello, Soifon," Unohana greeted her fellow Captain, stamping several more documents as she did so, "What brings you here today?"

"I've come to return a document pertaining to your squad, which was somehow mixed into my documents," Soifon replied, pulling out the document and handing it to Unohana.

"That's all," Unohana questioned politely, stamping the document and placing it with other approved ones like it. This question caught Soifon off guard, causing her to raise an eyebrow.

"Yes, I suppose it is…" Soifon replied, pausing for a moment, "…Is there something abnormal about that?"

"Oh, no," Unohana replied with her sweet smile, stamping another document, "It's just that perhaps one of your subordinates would be more convenient to use when you need something delivered."

"I wanted to make sure it was delivered immediately."

"I see, well I won't dwell on that any longer," Unohana smiled, stamping a few more documents before writing something on one of them, "…By the way…Was Hanataro with you, by any chance?"

"Yes, he escorted me here…"

"That's so sweet," Unohana smiled in triumph, confusing Soifon, "I suppose you two missed each other."

"What? N-no! I was just…" Soifon stammered, briefly pausing as she thought of an excuse, "I was just…walking through and we happened to come into contact with each other…"

"Of course," Unohana smiled, unconvinced by Soifon's reply, "Hanataro really is a sweet boy…a little bit shy and soft spoken, but he's a good boy."

"Yes…he is…"

_**-Outside of the 4**__**th**__** Squad Headquarters-**_

Hanataro was quietly walking away from the, now somewhat, depressing building. He was slumped over, his arms dangling at his sides like a zombie. He tiredly lifted his head from staring towards the concrete ground to the bright sun overhead.

"I made a total fool out of myself…" he mumbled, reaching out to the sun for no apparent reason.

"As if," a familiar voice exclaimed, interrupting Hanataro's self-pitying. He turned his attention to the voice's source, spotting Renji and Ichigo arguing about something.

"Tch, then why'd you ask me along," Ichigo questioned, obviously annoyed, "If you could 'handle things' yourself?"

"So you didn't feel lonely with Rukia gone," Renji replied, mocking Ichigo in a childish tone, "And we wouldn't want that happening, now would we?" The two glared intensely at each other, both reaching for their zanpakuto.

"Hello Renji and Ichigo," Hanataro chimed in, effectively neutralizing the situation.

"Oh, hey, Hanataro," Ichigo replied, turning his attention towards the boy, "What'cha been up to?"

"Oh…nothing exciting like you guys…" Hanataro replied, rubbing the back of his head as if a little embarrassed, "So, what brings both of you to the Soul Society?"

"Well, since I've had a lot of experience fighting the Arrancar, Captain Byakuya called for me," Renji stated in an arrogant tone that irritated Ichigo, "He wants me to relay whatever information I've gained from fighting them to him. I might even get promoted!"

"Aren't you already a lieutenant," Hanataro and Ichigo questioned in unison, causing red haired Soul Reaper to pause for a moment.

"Anyways…" he grumbled, "That's why I'm here. I just brought Ichigo along because, well, you know how he gets when nobody's around."

"Shut up, Renji," Ichigo snapped, returning his attention back to Hanataro, "You wanna tag along? I could use someone other than Renji over here to hang out with."

"Oh…uh…sure…" Hanataro replied, somewhat sadly. Renji and Ichigo exchanged glances at this behavior, eventually shrugging it off and making their way to the 6th Division Headquarters.

"You two wait here," Renji told his friends as he opened the door to Byakuya's office, stepping through it, "Oh, and find something productive to do, this may take a while." Ichigo scoffed at this, waving Renji off before he closed the door behind him. He let out a small sigh and leaned casually upon a nearby wall; arms crossed, eyes closed.

Hanataro quietly twiddled his thumbs, pacing slowly back and forth. He occasionally looked nervously around, resuming his walk shortly afterwards. Ichigo impatiently tapped his arms, looking up at the ceiling and letting out an exasperated sigh.

"Man…Renji needs to hurry up…" he mumbled, scratching his head, "…What if those Arrancar creeps decide to just randomly attack Karakura Town?"

Ichigo sighed, mentally dropping the subject for now. He let out a small "Hmm?" sound when he finally took note of Hanataro's pacing. He watched this for a few minutes, studying the boy's clockwork habit of looking around, pacing around some more, and then looking around some more.

"Hanataro…" Ichigo slowly began, obviously not grabbing the boy's attention, "…Uh…Is something wrong?"

The boy stopped his pacing and looked around as if trying to locate the familiar voice's source. He eventually spotted Ichigo and gave him a slight bow, "Hello Ichigo…What brings you back to the Soul Society?"

Ichigo cocked an eyebrow at this.

"What are you talking about," he asked, causing Hanataro to tilt his head in confusion, "I've been in the Soul Society for awhile now, _and_ you greeted me and Renji awhile ago. That's when I asked if you'd like to go visit Byakuya with us, remember?"

"…Oh…that's right…" Hanataro replied, obviously embarrassed, "I'm sorry…I suppose I've just been out of it…"

"Is something wrong, Hanataro? You seem bothered by something."

"Oh…it's nothing I'd want you to concern yourself with…"

"C'mon, just tell me what the hell's bothering you."

"But I…"

"Just tell me! I mean that's what friends are for, right? People to spill your guts out to when something's bothering and pissing you off, right?"

"Friends…" Hanataro questioned, twiddling his thumbs in deep thought. A short silence fell over the two, with whatever audio coming from Byakuya's office quieting down. Finally, Hanataro looked up at the Substitute Soul Reaper and nodded slightly.

"Well…Let's just say that…" Hanataro began, his heart thumping in a nervous fit and his stomach tightening, "That…there's this girl you like…"

A loud thump sound, like someone making contact with carpeted floor, could be heard from Byakuya's office. Ichigo paid no attention to this, instead staring with wide open eyes at the timid healer. This was soon replaced with a huge smirk followed by him placing a hand on the healer's shoulder.

"Heh! So you want me to help you get a girlfriend, right," Ichigo questioned, smirking even wider at the blushing healer, "So, who's the lucky girl? Do I know her?"

"Well…I think you might…" Hanataro replied, still twiddling his thumbs.

"Is she in the 4th Squad like you, or part of another Squad?"

"Well…she's part of another Squad…" Hanataro replied, feeling a little nervous at answering the question. He paused for a moment, with Ichigo remaining quiet, waiting for the other half of the answer. This moment, however, was suddenly ruined when Renji kicked open Byakuya's door, revealing both him and a stoic-looking Byakuya standing behind it.

"So, is it Lieutenant Isane," the red-haired Soul Reaper questioned, inadvertently revealing the fact that he and his Captain had been eavesdropping on Ichigo and Hanataro's conversation, "She's the one you've got a crush on, right?"

"Whoa," Ichigo exclaimed along with Hanataro, who had nearly jumped out of his skin as a result of the outburst, "You were listening all this time? And you too, Byakuya?"

"Of course, idiot," Renji replied with annoying authority, crossing his arms, "Do you know how well sounds carry through empty hallways?"

Ichigo scoffed at this and turned his attention towards Byakuya, "What's your excuse? I didn't think _you'd_ be into eavesdropping!"

Byakuya merely shrugged at this.

"So, it's Isane, right," Renji asked again, smirking at the timid healer.

"Well…"

"No! He just said it's no one from his Squad, idiot," Ichigo replied, "…So, what's her rank, Hanataro?"

"Is she seated or anything like that," Renji asked, slightly irritating Ichigo because he had just asked a question similar to that, "C'mon, out with it Hanataro!"

"Well…ye-yes…she is seated…"

"Interesting…" Byakuya stoically chimed in, receiving looks from the other three Soul Reapers, "Is she in a position that is higher than yours?"

"Yes, her position is higher than mine."

"So she's on top of you," Renji snickered. He quickly doubled over in pain when Ichigo elbowed him in the gut.

"Shut up, Renji…" he grumbled, returning his attention to Hanataro, "So, who is she? Is she…Rukia?"

"N-no," Hanataro quickly replied, fearing Ichigo's response if he had said anything but that.

"Is it Momo," Renji questioned, "That's gotta be who it is, or maybe that Orihime girl?"

"Orihime's not even part of the Soul Society," Ichigo groaned, shaking his head.

"Is it, perhaps, Kiyone," Byakuya questioned, receiving a "no" from the boy, "Perhaps…Nanao?"

"Captain Kyoraku's Lieutenant," Renji questioned, staring blankly at his Captain then at Hanataro, "Whoa, Hanataro, I never knew you were so into women stronger than you!"

"Bu-but, it's not-I'm not-Ms. Ise isn't the one," Hanataro stammered.

"Then it's gotta be…Rangiku," Ichigo exclaimed, puzzling the healer, "I'm right, aren't I?"

"Maybe its Lieutenant Yachiru," Renji joked.

"Or Yumichika," Byakuya chimed in, receiving laughs from both Ichigo and Renji, while Hanataro twiddled with his thumbs.

This guessing game went on for a few minutes longer, with Ichigo and Renji eventually listing off women not even remotely relevant to the Soul Society. However, they eventually got back on track and narrowed down their list to the only high ranking females of the Gotei 13 they could think of: The Captains.

"Maybe Taro's secret crush is Captain Unohana," Renji exclaimed, crossing his arms and grinning in triumph at 'beating' Ichigo to the answer, "Am I right or am I right?"

"Wow, Renji! I would've never guessed that Unohana is Hanataro's secret crush," Ichigo sarcastically began, smacking his head as if forgetting something, "By the way, what Squad is she the Captain of?"

"The 4th Squad, of course," Renji replied in a matter-of-fact tone.

"You mean the one Hanataro said his crush wasn't in," Ichigo questioned, humiliating Renji who grumbled something under his breath, "I think it's Soif-"

"Ca-can we please forget about who she is and focus more on what I should do," Hanataro quickly chimed in, attempting to muffle Ichigo's theory. It worked, to an extent, as Ichigo and Renji began to think of ways to impress a woman.

A few minutes passed with each of them coming close to an answer, but mentally dismissing it midsentence.

"…Have you tried just talking to her…" Ichigo finally asked, "That's usually how most relationships start."

"Well, yes…I have talked to her on several occasions…but…" Hanataro replied, attempting to find the right words to say, "How do I know if she…well…likes me?"

"Hmmm…that is a tad bit more complex than a simple conversation," Byakuya answered, placing a thoughtful hand on his chin, "Perhaps you should show your affection subtly, so as not to come on too strong, such as by giving her a gift of some sort as a token of friendship."

"Yeah, like that pottery stuff we had to make when Rukia dragged us to that Soul Reaper Women's Association pottery class for a week," Renji mumbled, shivering as unpleasant memories engulfed him. "…So much clay…ugh…Anyways, why don't you give that special someone the bowl you made? It was pretty cool looking and you did get a lot of compliments for it."

"Oh…I kind of already gave her it…It was a 'get well' present for her…" While Ichigo and Renji didn't catch the significance of that statement, Byakuya did as evidenced by his cocked eyebrow.

"Well…ask her to go to the park with you or something…" Ichigo replied, scratching his head for more suggestions, "Or, if you can, help her out with whatever work she needs done."

"Yeah, just do like Strawberry here said, and maybe buy her some Human world candy or gifts like that. Also, never forget this one rule: Chicks Dig Cool Sunglasses or C.D.C.S."

"Cool sunglasses," Hanataro questioned tilting his head in confusion.

"Yeah, like mine," Renji replied, pointing to the high tech sunglasses on his head which held some resemblance to the ones Ichigo had destroyed, "They cost me half a year's salary!"

"Which you should probably be spending on something more productive…" Byakuya sighed.

"Yeah, but…" Renji was about to defend himself when a silly ringtone about bunnies went off. He looked around, a little embarrassed, before pulling a pink cell phone from his pocket.

"Hello? Oh, hey, Rukia…Me and Ichigo are in the Soul Society right now…really? What are you doing there? We came to see Byakuya and then visit you and Orihime…What, are you sure? Ow! You don't have to yell! I…damn it…she hung up on me!"

"What's going on, Renji," Ichigo questioned.

"Rukia says there's some low level Arrancar causing trouble in Karakura Town and she needs our help, pronto!"

"Tch, then what are we waiting for," Ichigo questioned in a determined tone as he reached for his zanpakuto, "Later Hanataro, Byakuya!"

In a flash, the two Soul Reapers quickly disappeared down the hallway.

"I suppose I should return to 4th Squad Headquarters…" Hanataro nervously laughed.

"Perhaps…" Byakuya replied, looking around as if something was bothering him. He slowly examined his surroundings, finding nothing in particular to be out of order.

"Well…good-bye Captain Kuchiki…" Hanataro bowed, drawing the Captain's attention back to him.

"Good-bye Hanataro…" Byakuya replied, reentering his office and closing the door behind him. Before it closed, however, he stuck his head back out and looked at the young healer, "Soifon is an extremely strong willed and intimidating person to those of lower ranks and power. If you really want to begin a relationship with her it will take time, but it seems as though you've gained somewhat of a head start. So, just let things take their course and try to not stress yourself too much…Trust me…"

The door closed behind him shortly after that, leaving Hanataro alone. Instead of panicking over the fact that Byakuya knew his little secret, he slowly took the Captain's advice in. He glanced down at the tile floor and then turned to leave, bumping into someone.

"I'm sorry, Hanataro," an unfamiliar female voice rang.

"It's o…kay…"

When he looked around he realized that nobody was there.

_**-The next day: April 1**__**st-**_

Hanataro was used to this now. Every single year on his birthday, he would be pranked more often than usual and would be in so much pain that he would hardly be able to drag himself back to his room at the end of the day.

He let out a small sigh, slowly getting out of bed. He had often debated doing so on this day, but with the 11th Squad members being the brutes they are his schedule is usually kept full. This is due to their unfortunate habit of going Hollow hunting and beating the crap out of each other and anyone else who gets in their way.

He eventually prepared himself for the long day ahead of him, donning his uniform and black leather gloves. He also brought Hisagomaru with him, realizing a few years beforehand that it was useful in disarming most annual pranks. Afterwards, he made his way to his door, twisting the knob slightly. This was one such prank: "The falling paint can."

He opened the door ever so slightly as not to fully knock over the can of paint on the other side and then reached for Hisagomaru. Getting as far away as he could, Hanataro quickly opened the door with his zanpakuto and, as predicted, a can of paint and its contents came falling down, spilling all over the floor.

"Hmm…blue paint…guess they decided to switch it up a bit this year…" Hanataro joked to himself, sighing when he realized he'd have to clean this up. After doing just that, he cautiously made his way to work.

"Hey Hanataro," a fellow 4th Squad member greeted the young healer, raising his hand for a high-five. This is where the gloves came in. Each year someone would use this device called a 'Joy-Buzzer' to shock Hanataro when he shook their hand or high-fived them. The gloves would basically stop the shock, leaving Hanataro with actual joy.

He nodded at the Soul Reaper, giving him a high-five as he passed by. Hanataro let out a small, somewhat annoyed, sigh at the fact that even his fellow Squad members couldn't resist pulling pranks on him. Eventually, after receiving his assignments from Unohana, he headed outside and into more pranks.

Unfortunately, the 11th Squad members' pranks were a little more…aggressive…for lack of a better term. While he was able to avoid most traps, he was eventually caught in one that lifted him a considerable height off the ground, suspending him by a rope wrapped around his foot.

"…Aww…" Hanataro groaned, trying to figure out a way out of this. Using Hisagomaru was out of the question, considering how dull it was. Also, just hanging there wasn't much of an option either, as he was already starting to feel dizzy from the blood rushing to his head.

"Hanataro…what are you doing…" a familiar voice questioned. Hanataro looked around, spotting Soifon staring up at him.

"Oh…hello Captain Soifon…" Hanataro replied, embarrassed, "I'm just…hanging out…heh…"

Soifon stared at him for a moment, reaching for her zanpakuto. In one swift movement, Hanataro began falling from the sky and into Soifon's arms, turning his face a deep red. The Captain eventually placed him back on his feet and he bowed in gratitude.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes…I'm just fine…"

"Today's your birthday, isn't it," Soifon questioned, though she already knew the answer. He nodded. She let out a small sigh, tilting her head slightly and showing a somewhat concerned look. "Hanataro…" she began, remembering why she went looking for him, "Would you like to accompany me to the Human World?"

"Re-really? But…I'd have to ask Captain Unohana for-"

"I've already taken care of all that," Soifon interrupted him, smiling slightly, "She said it was okay for you to do so. I thought, since you've been in the Human World for a good amount of

time, that you could act as a sort of guide for me."

Hanataro paused for a moment before accepting Soifon's offer. Her smile widened slightly and the two Soul Reapers left moments later, a strange presence angrily following after them.

_**-A day earlier in Hueco Mundo-**_

Ulquiorra was quietly pacing around an empty throne-like room. The only sound made being that of his shoes tapping against the floor, creating a soft echo. He stopped his pacing, closed his eyes as if thinking, and took in a deep breath. A familiar spiritual presence caught his attention, though he never turned to acknowledge it.

"Lord Ulquiorra…" a female voice began, somewhat timidly, "You…you wished to see me?"

"Yes…" he replied, devoid of emotion. He turned to face the girl kneeling a few feet away from him, "I want to discuss with you your visits into the Soul Society…"

"Are…are you upset?"

"No…I'm more curious about why you would do such a thing…" Ulquiorra replied, receiving a somewhat confused look from the girl.

"Well…I…" she began, brushing her deep crimson hair back, revealing her light blue eyes, "I'm not entirely sure…I suppose I go just to go…"

"…Interesting…" Ulquiorra replied, turning his back on her, "You may leave if you wish…and you may enter the Soul Society as you please…But please do be careful you aren't captured, as it may interfere with Lord Aizen's plans…"

The girl nodded slightly before disappearing into darkness.


	3. The Third Wheel

_**Lethal Hornet, Timid Healer**_

**Disclaimer:**

**I don't own the rights to anything related to the anime **_**Bleach**_

**The rights to that anime belong to…other people…**

_**

* * *

**_

_**Chapter 3: The Third Wheel**_

Her legs felt like lead, kneeling there before Ulquiorra. His spiritual pressure seemingly overwhelmed her and she began to shake with fear. What had she done to make him call for her like this? Did she anger him? Did she annoy him? Did she do anything worth praise?

All these things and more cycled through her mind in a span of five seconds, but it seemed like an eternity. He didn't turn to face her and seemed to be deep in thought. "Maybe I should come back later," she thought, attempting to leave only to reconsider. If he called for her now, he wanted to speak to her _now_.

It was strange how she was under his control like this, even though she was technically not his Fracción. But then again she _had_ followed him around when they were both hollows, though it was more like '"running into him often." The slightest movement from his interlocked hands, gently resting on his lower back, put her on edge.

"Lord Ulquiorra…" she finally began, swallowing some of her fear, "You…you wished to see me?"

"Yes…" he replied, devoid of emotion. He turned to face her, revealing his stoic green eyes. He released one of his hands to rub his chin slightly before interlocking it with the other again, "I want to discuss with you your visits into the Soul Society."

She felt sick when he said that and her body nervously twitched for a brief moment. How did he find out? More importantly, should she have told him?

"Are…are you upset?"

"No…I'm more curious about why you would do such a thing…" Ulquiorra replied, receiving a somewhat confused look from the girl.

"Well…I…" she began, brushing her deep crimson hair back, "I'm not entirely sure…I suppose I go just to go." She was lying; she had a reason for going and it wasn't whim. She studied the Espada's face, unable to determine if he believed her or not.

"…Interesting…" Ulquiorra replied, turning his back on her, "You may leave if you wish…and you may enter the Soul Society as you please…But please do be careful you aren't captured, as it may interfere with Lord Aizen's plans…"

The girl nodded slightly before disappearing into darkness. She let out a small sigh of relief as she landed in one of Hueco Mundo's vast deserts. Taking a seat on the sand beneath her, she stared at Las Noches, wondering what Ulquiorra might do.

She wondered if he would tell Aizen, or if he already did that. Despite the questions she had, she was glad that Ulquiorra approved of her travels. It was a relief to know that he wasn't going to become an obstacle in her quest and she smiled as she stared at the pitch black sky of Hueco Mundo.

"What a boring place…" she mumbled, letting out a small sigh as she got to her feet. She hated Hueco Mundo's constant night time theme, preferring the human and spiritual world's alternation between night and day. She snapped her fingers, remembering a remedy to this, and pulled a golden key from her pocket. She held it out and twisted it, hearing a clicking sound as if it were unlocking a door. A glowing blue keyhole appeared and began to expand into the shape of a door. It was a deep blood red color with a skeletal figure holding a scythe embedded in it.

Behind the door was a splendor of nature. There was a bright blue sky with a healthy yellow sun, lush green grass that gently swayed in the breeze, healthy trees bearing oranges and apples, and a nice little lake that sparkled in the sun.

There was even a night and day switch installed!

Originally, it had been a training room designed by Gin for the Arrancar. Lord Aizen, however, saw it more as Gin's attempt to get away with being lazy, as it was designed more for luxury than combat, and eventually made him abandon it.

The reason she knew this was because of Gin's habit of making small talk with anyone who entered his work area. He, at one point, gave her the key, saying that it was pointless for him to hold onto it any longer.

With a little pestering and begging, she was able to receive Aizen's approval to make it her own little abode. She took in a deep breath and sighed with content before plopping down on the warm grass. It was a nice feeling, much better than the cold of Hueco Mundo's sand. A small yawn escaped her mouth and she slowly closed her deep blue eyes, falling into dreams of when she first met "him."

_**-Flashback: Rooftops of Karakura Town-**_

It was not too long ago; in fact she believed it was sometime after Lord Aizen had set up permanent residence in Hueco Mundo. Back then she was still an Adjuchas-class Hollow, her resemblance being linked to that of a black fox with her mask and armor covered fur complimenting that comparison.

The eye holes of her mask were slanted with red markings, shaped like a U with a dash extending from the bottom curve under each of them. Her canines were jagged with a slight red tint, courtesy of all the hollows she'd been devouring, and her bright blue eyes were an intimidating gold with a blue ring around them.

She specifically remembered it as a dark and rainy night. It was a dry spell for her, a desperate hunt to find enough souls to satisfy her hunger or one unfortunate Hollow. She could always try a living soul, but she wasn't _that_ desperate.

Just thinking about the disgusting taste and smell made her sick.

Her stomach growled at her for neglecting it and pestered her as she leapt from rooftop to rooftop. She abruptly halted her movements, nearly falling off the ledge of the building she was about to leap off, and slowly scanned her surroundings before licking her lips.

"Souls…two of them…sweet smelling…" she mumbled with hunger in her voice. Her noise twitched and sniffed to find her next meals, eventually pointing her in the right direction.

She arrived in what appeared to be a shopping district and, still sticking to the rooftops, she scanned the area for her prey. The place was almost devoid of humans, save for the convenience stores that were still open around this time. Her nose sniffed around again and she let out a small sneeze.

She stared up at the sky, rain dripping into her eyes. She cursed the rain, considering how she always seemed to find less food when it came. This was due to the odd fact that it seemed to warp her sense of smell and her ability to sense spiritual pressure, which seemed to lower to an annoying extent.

Quietly, she curled into a ball and stared over the edge of the building she was lying on. It's not like she would die if she didn't eat any souls, but it's not pleasant to be starving all the time.

"This sucks…" she mumbled, letting out a small groan of pain as her head began to throb. She wouldn't die, but she did need to eat something, otherwise she'd end up losing all the progress she's made as a hollow and be consumed by the very hollows she consumed, as in she'd become one of those mindless disgraces she sees every now and then.

It took her an extremely long time to get here, and she wasn't about to let her attempts to become a Vasto Lorde be in vain.

Her head shot up and her ears twitched when she heard someone screaming. She followed the sound, licking her lips as she sensed a tasty amount of spiritual pressure, and came upon an alleyway. There she saw a young girl in the grasp of a big ugly hollow by the name of "Big Shot." His skin was a sickly green color with golden scales on various places of his body. He had a long, sharp tail along with sharp claws and feet. His mask resembled a snake, which was also complimented by the way he held his Ss.

She despised that Hollow, having had the displeasure of running into him more than a few times. He was a lecher, a creep, and an overall jerk. Once, he even attempted to kill her, something she never had the chance to repay him for…That is until now…

Quietly she moved closer to the scene, sharpening her claws against the concrete of the building she was on. She groaned in disgust as she listened to his voice, taunting the soul he was about to eat.

"Sssssorry, my dear…" he hissed and cackled, "But ssssurely you underssstand that a Hollow like me must eat to ssssurvive."

The next thing she saw was a streak of red light, followed by a pained yell as Big Shot's arm was sliced off. He clutched the hole where his arm used to be in pain, growling as blood spilled out. "Wh-where do you think you're going," he growled at the girl who was now freeing herself from his severed grip.

He looked up and glared at the Soul Reaper standing a few feet away. "You did thisss to me…didn't you…" he barked, whipping his tail against the ground. The Hollow girl watched this with interest, and slowly examined the boy. He had short, black hair and a white sack slung over his shoulder. In his right hand was a tiny scalpel that let out a stream of red smoke.

"Was _that_ the thing he used against that loser," she wondered to herself, examining the tiny zanpakuto, "That thing's a mere butter knife. Hmph…there's no way it could've done _that_…"

The female soul thanked the young Soul Reaper before fleeing. Big Shot growled at him, but began to laugh. In fact, he laughed so hard that the female Hollow thought he'd lost his mind. His laughter eventually died down, followed by him wiping away a stray tear with his still attached arm.

"While I'm upssset that you caused me to lossse me prey," he began, casually scratching his claws against the ground to produce an ear piercing sound. Slowly, his tail slid along the ground behind any cover it could find as Big Shot kept the boy's eyes on him. "I'm glad that you'll _more_ than make up for her, Ssssoul Reaper!" With that, his tail quickly circled the boy and squeezed him so hard that he dropped his zanpakuto.

Big Shot laughed as the boy let out a small yelp when the Hollow tightened his grip again. He lifted his hand to squeeze the boy's throat and used his index claw to produce a superficial wound around it. The female Hollow watched with hunger and pity as a tiny ring of blood formed around the boy's neck.

"What should I do…" she mumbled, clasping onto the edge of the building she was on so tightly that it left impressions of her hands, as she began cycling through reasons why she should or shouldn't interfere.

"Well…I don't like Big Shot and interfering would really piss him off. I could kill two birds with one stone, first Big Shot and then the Soul Reaper, considering how weakened they are right now. Then again, Big Shot is tougher than I suspected he'd be the last time we fought…But, that'll just make victory that much sweeter when I win…"

She also considered the Soul Reaper to be a tad bit adorable.

Her thoughts were interrupted by his pained groans and, letting out a sigh, she leapt from the building. She flexed her claws and dug them into Big Shot's back, causing the Hollow to howl in pain.

"You again," he screamed, releasing his grip on the Soul Reaper, "I knew I should've killed you!"

The female Hollow rolled her eyes and dug her claws deeper into his back. He attempted to shake her off only to find that she just kept digging deeper. His tail shot off the ground to swat her away, but she hopped off his back in time for him to end up swatting himself.

"You bra-ugh…" he howled, losing his second arm to the female Hollow's hunger. She licked her crimson stained teeth with content, but her eyes stared at him hungrily. "You w-wouldn't dare…" he stammered, shrinking away from her only to find his back against a wall. She slowly approached him, letting out a small, pity filled chuckle.

"Look at you…Mr. Big Shot himself being taken down by a 'pathetic wench of a Hollow'," she laughed bitterly, "It's a tad bit ironic, isn't?" She was mere inches away from him now and began to slowly extend her left hand towards him. The sight of her claws reaching towards him like that caused him to panic and lash out with his tail. On his part, that was a mistake because she easily caught and bit off the tail with her mouth.

"C'mon, A-April…Sssssweetheart…I didn't mean what I said, please don't kill me…"

He let out another howl as April stabbed him with her other claws and tore him open. Hanataro watched this display in captivated horror. He's heard about Hollows devouring each other for strength, but he never believed he'd see it happen like _this_. He clasped his hands against his ears to block out Big Shot's screams as April devoured him and closed his eyes to avoid watching.

He wanted to run away, to leave before she was done and came for him next. But the screams, the smell, _everything_ weighed him down to the ground and forced him to stay put. The screams eventually faded away, replaced by sickening cracks and then silence. The smell disappeared too and Hanataro slowly opened his eyes.

He regretted doing that as April was only a few inches away from him.

"Hmmm…that was an interesting attack…Soul Reaper…" she said, wrapping her bushy black tail around him. She gently lifted him off the ground and reached for him. He jerked away, causing her hand to twitch slightly. She glanced down at it, retracted her claws, and reached for him again. He tried to keep out of reach, but it was pointless as she just pulled him closer, gently brushing her hand against his cheek.

"Wha-what are you doing," he asked, shaking slightly. She let out a small "hmmm" and continued her actions.

He really did look adorable.

She smiled slightly and brushed his hair back so she could see his blue eyes better. "It really would be a shame to kill you…" she thought out loud, causing panic in the young Soul Reaper.

"Luckily, you won't get the chance!"

Hanataro and April's eyes snapped to the voice's source. "I-Ichigo," the young Soul Reaper exclaimed, obviously relieved. April let out a low growl aimed at the Substitute Soul Reaper for interrupting her. She became even more agitated when she saw the two Soul Reapers with him, who Hanataro identified as "Rukia" and "Renji."

"Let him go…or else…" Ichigo demanded April, reaching for the unusual zanpakuto on his back. It intimidated her to an extent, considering its massive size and abnormal design. She subconsciously tightened her grip on the boy, causing him to let out a pained yelp. "Alright, you had your chance," Ichigo exclaimed, leaping towards the Hollow with his zanpakuto held high.

She quickly released her grip on Hanataro and barely avoided Ichigo's attack in time. She glanced at her bleeding tail and shot a glare at the orange haired boy.

"Are you okay, Hanataro," Ichigo asked, never taking his eyes off April. The boy nodded, having been caught by Rukia during his brief freefall, something that caused this strange emotion to bubble inside April, "Good…now, where were we?" Ichigo raised his zanpakuto again and prepared another attack only to be taken off guard by a quick Cero from April.

The blast created a cloud of dust that allowed the Hollow to quickly escape the Soul Reapers.

"Hanataro…" she mumbled, glancing over her shoulder. She was glad she learned his name; maybe later she could find him and kill him, just to spite the orange haired Soul Reaper and his friends.

At least…that's what she wanted at first…

_**-Present Day-**_

"Wake up April," a brash female voice demanded. April let out a small sigh and opened her eyes, spotting a familiar Arrancar with heterochromia. "Finally," the other Arrancar exclaimed, taking a bite out of the apple she was holding, "But I'm kinda disappointed you aren't dead."

"What do you want, Apache, and how the _hell_ did you get here," April asked, obviously irritated by the Arrancar's presence. Apache smirked at this, taking another bite of the apple, and chuckled. She shouldn't have been able to find or enter this place by herself, even by sensing April's spiritual pressure.

"Awww, did I wake the little bitch from her nap," she mockingly asked, this time laughing at April. April clenched her fists, irritated by Apache's behavior. She knew this was part of Apache's 'game', her trap, to be as annoying and rude to her as she could. However, that didn't keep April from walking into it and losing her cool. More often than not, this escalates to a fight that either Ulquiorra or Harribel have to stop.

"What do you want…and how did you get here…" April asked again, this time in a more reserved manner. Apache seemed irritated by this and threw the apple she was eating at April, though she easily caught the fruit and took a bite from it as a sort of mockery towards Apache.

"Lord Aizen wants to see us…He sent me here…" she grumbled, dipping her hands into her pockets. That explains a lot, but why would Aizen want to see them? Was he angry at them for something…or…Did he find out about April's visits to the Soul Society?

The thought of what he might do frightened her, especially when she remembered what Tosen did to Grimmjow.

"Hey, snap out of it," Apache growled, snapping her fingers to gain April's attention, "Get your ass up, I don't want to take any heat if Lord Aizen gets upset with us because _you_ took your sweet time!"

"I'm coming, geez…" April groaned, lifting herself from the ground. "Let's go…"

"Heh, I'll race you there," Apache boasted, making a dash towards the red door. She kicked it open, quickly grasping onto the doorframe to keep herself from falling into the abyss behind it. April sighed, pulling Apache back into the room, and closed the door. She opened it again to reveal the deserts of Hueco Mundo and performed a "after you" gesture.

Apache quickly disappeared, grumbling as she did so. She landed within five miles of Las Noches and smirked, turning around to see how far back April was. Her smirk turned into a frown when she saw April, with her hands casually tucked in her pockets, _walking_ towards her when she was at least five miles back. "Hurry up, you stupid, bitch," she barked, only to pause when she noticed April wasn't there anymore.

A quick breeze rushed past her and she growled in anger before quickly making her way to Las Noches. "Damn, cheater…" she mumbled, eventually arriving in Aizen's throne room.

"Took you long enough," April laughed, receiving an annoyed look from the other Arrancar. Before Apache could reply, Sun-Sun let out a small cough to remind them where they were.

"Nice of you two losers to join us," Grimmjow smirked receiving an annoyed look from the girls, "It's not nice to keep Lord Aizen and the rest of us waiting, hell, it's downright disrespectful!"

"Shut the hell up, Grimmjow," Apache snapped, which apparently amused the former Espada.

"Now, now, now, there's no need for such behavior, Grimmjow," Aizen said, leaning back in his throne, "I'm glad you two are here, as I have an important task for you…Would you kindly come forward?"

They complied and took a knee before the former Soul Reaper Captain.

"What is it you need us to do, Lord Aizen," April asked, avoiding eye contact with the man. Apache remained silent, somewhat relieved that April had spoken for both of them. Aizen let out a small chuckle and revealed a delicious looking red apple that glistened as it sat in the room's light.

"What is it?"

"It's an apple," Aizen chuckled, "It's part of an old experiment of mine that I've decided to revive, if only for a short time."

"What do we have to do, Lord Aizen," Apache asked, somewhat timidly.

"That's simple: I want you to take this apple, go to the human world, and feed this to a Soul Reaper," Aizen smiled. "That's all you need to do."

"Understood…but…" April timidly began, feeling the eyes of everyone in the room fall upon her, "Why send the two of us?"

"I'm glad you asked that," Aizen chuckled, playfully tossing and catching the apple with one hand, "You see, it's for insurance purposes. Apache is a bit violent and quick to get into a fight, such as when she decided to sneak into Karakura town earlier today, and would be killed by the Soul Reapers there without having accomplished her mission."

Grimmjow laughed at this, "That _was_ pretty stupid of you!"

"Coming from the idiot who's Fracción were all killed because of his foolishness," Ulquiorra sighed, receiving a glare from the former 6th Espada.

"Ulquiorra is right, Grimmjow," Luppi grinned, folding his arms in a childish manner.

Aizen cleared his throat, interrupting whatever nasty comeback Grimmjow was cooking up. "Now where was I…Ah, that's right," he smiled, taking a slight pause, "If I were to send you, April, by yourself you'd be an uncontrolled factor."

"Uncontrolled factor?"

"Yes, meaning you'd add an unknown variable into my experiment," he replied, tossing the apple to the crimson haired girl, "If it weren't for that, I would send you alone. In fact, you'd be perfect for this little test considering your abilities. Besides, you two would be able to cover each other's backs in case you find yourselves in a fight."

"That is if they don't stab each other there first," Grimmjow laughed, receiving annoyed looks from the two girls again, "C'mon Lord Aizen, I should be the one doing this! It'll give me another chance to crush that Soul Reaper I met last time!"

"What a fool," Luppi sighed, receiving a glare from Grimmjow.

"When do we start..." April asked, still staring at the apple.

"Tomorrow," Aizen replied, waving his hand a bit, "This concludes our meeting, you're all dismissed now."

_**-The next day: The streets of Karakura Town-**_

It wasn't foreign to her, the human world that is.

Soifon had been there before, but that was for business.

"This is for pleasure," she thought to herself, glancing at Hanataro and blushing a little, "Maybe 'pleasure' is the wrong word...Interest, maybe…yes that's more like it."

She nodded to herself, adjusting the black leather jacket she was wearing. Hanataro noticed this and glanced over at her, examining her attire. It consisted of the previously mentioned jacket, blue jeans held up by a black belt with a gold colored cat shaped buckle, a sky blue shirt, and black shoes.

It was actually refreshing to see her like this, in 'normal' attire. It puts her in a more informal light, a light that made him forget her status as a Captain and relax around her.

"Hanataro," her voice rang through his ears, snapping him out of his trance. Though her voice was calm and at a reasonable level, the authority it held reminded him of her status again and caused him to grow tense.

"Ye-yes?"

"What do humans do here…What they do for 'fun'," she asked with an air of curiosity. Hanataro paused for a moment, placing a hand on his chin and humming slightly.

"Well, uuuhhh…they do lots of things like…" he paused again, cycling through some common human activities, "Play video games."

"Those childish devices," she asked, cocking an eyebrow. She analyzed Hanataro's taken aback look and let out a small 'I mean' cough, "What else do they do?"

"Well…they read novels and manga."

She thought about this for a moment, "Why?"

"For fun."

She hummed slightly, turning her back to him as she went into deep thought. Usually when she had to read, she read documents; long, boring documents. She had never read a novel or manga even in her free time, which she spent training.

"Where do humans get these novels and manga?"

"Well, in book stores usually. I'll take you to one…I mean, that is if you'd like me to…" he said, feeling a bit embarrassed. Soifon smiled and nodded, following his lead.

As they proceeded to the nearest bookstore, Soifon examined her surroundings. She was fascinated, to an extent, by the cars that passed them. She liked the color of one particular car, black with yellow stripes, but was unimpressed with their speed and noted how she could _walk_ faster than them.

But, considering their lack of Flash Step among other abilities, she understood why humans used such slow methods of travel. Her attention went back to Hanataro when he announced that they had arrived at their destination.

She glanced at the building; it was differently designed than the ones she was used to seeing in the Soul Society, but then again so were the other buildings she'd seen so far in this world. They proceeded inside and she felt a slight chill, considering the temperature difference between the store and outside.

"Tell me a bit more about novels and manga," Soifon requested, staring at the shelves of books before her.

"Well, they're stories…usually fiction…And uhh…there's different types," Hanataro replied, leading her through the store. "There's Comedy, Drama, Action/Adventure, Horror," Hanataro listed, pointing at section signs, "…R-romance…"

There was a slight pause in his actions and he blushed at saying the word.

"A-nd there's Fantasy…" he continued, leading Soifon as far away from the "R" section as he could. Soifon glanced back at it, a slight curiosity developing in her.

"There are also sections that work on appealing to certain types of people, like this section," Hanataro stated, rounding a book shelf, "This section is aimed more at young g…irls?"

Hanataro froze with confusion when he saw who was there: a familiar orange-haired Substitute Soul Reaper. Ichigo was slowly shifting through the manga lining the shelves, eventually pulling out one with a hot pink cover. "Ugh…finally," Hanataro heard him mumble before he checked the item's price tag, "Thank god, I've got enough money for…it…?"

He slowly turned to see Hanataro standing a few feet away, which nearly caused Ichigo to drop the manga. On its cover was a white chibi-style, supposedly female, bunny with a cool sword raised over her head. Hanataro slowly read over the manga's title: "_Super Cool Bunny Girl: Love Conquers All! Volume 3._" Ichigo noticed him reading it and quickly put the manga behind his back, "This…this isn't what it looks like, Hanataro…I was just getting this because Rukia…"

"Oh, it's you, Kurosaki…" Soifon flatly stated, sighing as she revealed herself. Ichigo's nervousness turned into obvious confusion. His eyes shifted between the two and he eventually remembered what Hanataro had told him yesterday, which caused his eyes to widen with disbelief.

"_What_ are you looking at," Soifon 'asked,' her arms folded in irritation.

"Uh…can you excuse us for a moment," Ichigo nervously laughed before casually walking over to Hanataro and dragging him around a nearby bookshelf.

After they took a seat on the floor, Ichigo leaned towards the young healer. "Hanataro…" he whispered, obviously surprised, "What are you doing here with Soifon?"

"W-well, she asked me to come with her to the human world as a guide…"

"Oh, I guess that makes sense…But I'm pretty sure she's been here before…" Ichigo shook his head as if trying to focus and leaned closer, "Is she the…you know…the girl you have a crush on?"

"W-well…maybe…"

Ichigo smirked at this, and patted Hanataro on the back. "You know, that's pretty brave of you, trying to put the moves on a _Captain_," he joked, "I'll make sure your funeral shows you as the true hero you are."

Even though Ichigo was joking, his joke made Hanataro nervous.

"Captain," that word alone kept Hanataro in line when speaking with Soifon. Ichigo was right, if he did something to upset or anger her she could _really_ hurt him _and_ get away with it. He gulped nervously at this thought, receiving a quietly concerned look from Ichigo.

"Relax, Hanataro…I was only joking about the funeral stuff," he chuckled slightly, scratching his head. Hanataro nodded and smiled slightly, relaxing as he remembered what Byakuya had told him yesterday.

"…So…have you put the moves on her?"

"On who?"

Ichigo and Hanataro slowly turned their heads to see Soifon peering over the book shelf at them, frowning slightly at the fact that they were conversing secretively. They stammered, choking on and tripping over their words as they tried to come up with an excuse.

"What were you two talking about," she asked, this time more aggressively, "Who's putting what _moves_ on _who_?"

"Uh…No one's putting the moves on anyone," Ichigo replied, scrambling to his feet. "We were just…talking about anime! That's right, anime! You wouldn't be interested."

"On the contrary, I am-"

"See you two later," Ichigo quickly interrupted, grabbing the bunny manga and running off. Soifon watched with irritation as the boy disappeared around a corner and she promptly turned to Hanataro before hopping over the book shelf, folding her arms and towering over the seated Soul Reaper as she stared at him.

"What were you two _really _talking about," she calmly asked. Hanataro repeated what Ichigo had said and Soifon, with a sigh that showed she didn't buy his lie, dropped the subject. She asked Hanataro to show her what else humans do for fun, but first, she ventured back into the Romance section of the store. Hanataro reluctantly followed her, blushing as she went further and further into the "R" section.

She carefully examined the novels there, reading their titles then flipping them over to read their summaries. She did this for about thirty minutes or so until she found a book of particular interest. Maybe it was the title, "_Black Cat: Kimi's Desire,_" that interested her; maybe it was the cover's drawing, one of a black cat resting on a white dog that appeared to be slightly larger than it. The cat seemed to be staring directly at her with its piercing yellow eyes, showing a sort of possessiveness over the dog as its claws rested on the dog's belly. The white dog seemed to stare at her too, but with less aggressive, blue eyes that seemed to welcome the cat's behavior.

She slowly reached for the book, brushing her fingers along the cover, and lifted it from its place on the shelf. "I-I'll get that," Hanataro stated as he went to pick up a book Soifon had accidently knocked off the shelf. She nodded slightly, not really paying attention, and flipped the book over.

Its summary read: "_Kimi, a young black cat, comes from a prestigious Japanese family. As a result of her pampered lifestyle, she tends to be stuck up and antagonistic towards anyone "beneath her." One day, she comes across a young dog that, to an extent, saves her life. From that day forth, a strange bond develops between the two; a bond that grows stronger each and every day._"

It was more or less the classic love story summary, but it interested Soifon. After she purchased the book and they left the store, Hanataro began telling her a few more things humans did for fun.

"What do they do when they have picnics," Soifon asked as they took a seat on a wooden bench.

"Well…they bring food to the park and eat it," Hanataro replied, trying to remember more details, "They also play games, like throwing Frisbees."

Soifon hummed a bit and lifted herself from the bench. Interlocking her hands behind her back, she slowly began to walk forward. Hanataro reluctantly followed her, but stopped when she abruptly did so. She quietly looked at the humans around her. There were many couples around, a sight that caused a strange feeling to bubble up inside her. The way they tightly held each other, the way she saw one girl resting her tired little head on her boyfriend's shoulders, the way they…kissed…

It made her feel downright envious, though she kept it from showing.

"Hanataro…" she finally spoke after a few minutes had passed, "Do you…do you like being here with me?"

The question threw Hanataro off guard, to say the least. "Well, I-I-huh?" He froze when she suddenly turned and walked towards him.

"I-is she angry at me," he thought to himself as he took several steps back in order to keep a favorable distance between him and Soifon, letting out a small yelp when he fall back onto the bench. He was trapped; his body trembled as she leaned in closer and closer until he could feel the 'fire' in her eyes.

Then, she pulled back, revealing that she was merely picking up her book, and smiled uncomfortably. "You're not afraid of me, are you," she joked, putting Hanataro at relative ease. She offered her hand and lifted him from the bench, "C'mon, let's go have a picnic."

_**-Earlier that day on the rooftops of Karakura Town-**_

Apache was impatiently waiting for April to show up, tossing the apple around in an attempt to pass time. After what seemed like hours, Apache spotted April on the edge of a nearby building, gazing at the streets below her. Apache let out an irritated sigh before leaping off the building she was on and flying over to her temporary partner, grumbling, "Finally…"

"Took you long enough," she growled as she appeared next to the red-haired Arrancar, "I almost thought you chickened out and decided to hide in that pathetic little clubhouse of yours." Apache laughed at this, which quickly faded when she realized April wasn't paying attention to her. She noticed three things when she examined April: her fists were clenched, she was shaking, and she _really _looked upset.

"…Hey…is something wrong," Apache asked, showing actual concern. April shook her head and mumbled something before continuing her stare towards the streets below them. Apache stared down as well, spotting what April was looking at: A couple. She smirked at this and placed a hand on April's shoulder, "Jealous?"

"As a matter of fact," April snapped, brushing Apache's hand off, "No…" She paused when she saw the couple leave and she began to follow after them.

"Where are you going? We still have this stupid apple we have to deal with and-"

"Do it yourself, I don't have time to babysit you," April groaned, shaking her head before leaving a stunned Apache.

April could hardly believe Hanataro would do this to her, spending time with another woman after all they've done together. "That…bitch," she growled as Soifon leaned so close to Hanataro that she could _feel_ them kissing.

"He's pretty cute, don't you think," Apache asked with a smirk, receiving a glare from April.

"Stay _away_ from him or else I'll-"

"Whoa, whoa, c-calm down, April," Apache nervously commanded, taking a step back. April paused for a moment, still glaring at Apache, before turning her attention back to the couple below them. Normally Apache would be ecstatic about finding a new way to annoy April, but, considering how fiercely the Arrancar just threatened her, she was reluctant to exploit this.

Then she had an idea.

"You know, April," Apache slyly began, pacing back and forth in a calculating manner, "It really is a shame how that girl's moving in on your territory." April didn't look at her, but Apache knew she was listening, as shown by her slight nod, "You know what I think you should do, huh? I think you should go down there and show that bitch who's the boss!"

April remained silent and nodded again, smiling vengefully at Soifon.

_**-A secluded area in the Park-**_

Soifon and Hanataro were quietly sitting on a nice blue blanket, with snacks and goodies laid out before them.

"Go ahead," Soifon said after minutes of silence and staring between her and Hanataro, receiving a confused look from the boy, "Eat, or else all this food will go to waste, along with the funds we used to buy them…"

"I think you should eat first, Captain," Hanataro replied, easing up a bit. She cocked an eyebrow at this, feeling slightly uncomfortable as the word "Captain" served as a barrier of sorts, slowing the progress of their relationship past 'formality'. Though, she wasn't fully sure of how she felt about the boy, she _was_ sure that she wanted to find out and eliminate any obstacles that could prevent her from doing so.

Nodding, she smiled slightly and reached for a rice ball, taking a bite, which prompted Hanataro to reach for one as well. They sat there, quietly eating, for several minutes with both wondering what to do next; it wouldn't be much of a picnic if _all_ they did was eat.

"So…how have you been doing since I left the hospital," Soifon asked, breaking the silence.

"I've been doing well…" Hanataro replied, finishing his rice ball, "It's been a little boring since you left though." She smiled at this, something that made him smile as well. Her smile turned upside down when she remembered what had happened yesterday between him and some Squad 11 members, and the fact that she found him dangling by a rope earlier today.

"Are you sure? Considering what happened yesterday and today…"

"I'm used to it," Hanataro replied, trying to force a smile. Soifon's eyes softened as she watched this, finding it understand why Hanataro didn't stand up for himself; then again, members of Squad 11 _are_ vicious fighters and members of Squad 4 aren't as well trained in fighting as they are.

From what she's learned, it also isn't exactly in Hanataro's nature to fight. She could draft him to her squad so she could keep a closer eye on him, maybe teach him how to defend himself, but the difficulties he'd face would only increase and he'd need a good amount of training to be efficient in her Squad.

"Captain Soifon…is something wrong," Hanataro asked as she got to her feet. He watched her walk around a bit, slowly feeling a strange, but faint, spiritual pressure. It felt like a hollow's, but it also felt like a Soul Reaper's, if only faintly.

It reminded him of May's.

"What an interesting sight this is," a mysterious voice mused, "The great Captain Soifon pathetically trying to woo some young boy like to cougar she is!"

"Show yourself," Soifon demanded, feeling the spiritual pressure grow stronger. The voice let out a condescending laugh and complied, revealing herself to be an Arrancar wearing a white, form fitting outfit and a fox mask made of bone that only revealed the lower half of her face. Holding what Soifon assumed to be her zanpakuto behind her back was a bushy red tail. She brushed back her crimson hair and arrogantly walked towards the two Soul reapers, smiling, "Remember me?"

Soifon froze as she set her eyes on the woman who had slain her squad and left her for dead a month ago, her shocked expression slowly twisting into a murderous glare.

"You'll wish I didn't…" Soifon growled, popping a Soul Candy into her mouth. "Take Hanataro and run," she commanded the Mod Soul that had taken residence in her fallen gigai, before turning her attention back to the Arrancar.

"O-okay…" the Mod Soul timidly replied, pulling herself from the ground and dusting herself off before turning to Hanataro, "Pl-please come with me, sir." He stammered a bit, as if he were against the idea of running away. "Please, don't disobey me," the Mod Soul stated in a chilling tone that shocked Hanataro before she grabbed him by the wrist and led him away.

"Don't worry, Hanataro, this won't take long" Soifon assured him, receiving a nod from the boy, almost tripping over himself as the Mod Soul continued to lead him away from the imminent fight, "Now, where were we?"

"You were losing, remember?"

"I admit that you caught me off guard last time," Soifon sighed, throwing off her Captain's coat, "This time you won't be so lucky!"

"Says you," the Arrancar laughed, her mask turning into two fox ear shaped horns on her head, revealing the upper half of her face, "You should be glad that I even spared your miserable life! Now, let me ask you one, simple question: What do you think you're doing here with Hanataro?"

"Wha-what…why do you…" Soifon stammered, her face turning a light shade of red, before becoming enraged, "This has nothing to do with Hanataro! This is about what you did to my squad and now I'm going to make you pay for their lives!"

"I'm a little short on change," the Arrancar laughed, taking her zanpakuto from her tail and pointing it at Soifon, "I hope this is suitable." She tilted her head in surprise, discovering Soifon had disappeared. She waited a moment, a series of 'swoosh' sounds gracing her ears, and felt a strong, sharp kick to her back that sent her flying into a nearby tree.

"You really shouldn't have let your guard down like that," Soifon advised the Arrancar, disappearing to perform another attack. The Arrancar scoffed at this, easily blocking Soifon's kick and grabbing her airborne leg, twisting it. Soifon grunted in pain, delivering a kick with her free leg to the Arrancar's stomach.

The Arrancar pulled back to avoid the kick and disappeared into the trees. Soifon quickly chased after her, arriving in a clearing where at least twenty people were doing various activities, ranging from having a picnic to playing Frisbee.

"Damn," she mumbled when she realized the dilemma she was in, her shadow suddenly stretching out before her as a strange light glowed behind her. She turned to see the Arrancar hovering over her with an orange Cero charging in her right hand, smiling as she waved goodbye before unleashing the blast. Soifon quickly casted a low level kido spell that negated the Cero on contact.

While she did that, the Arrancar created another, this time faster, blast aimed directly at the ground, creating an explosion that was barely blocked by Soifon. When the dust cleared, a crescent shaped crater was created and the people nearby began to panic, running away in fear.

"Arrancar, this is between you and me, not these humans," Soifon growled, charging at the Arrancar.

"The name's April, by the way," she smirked, countering Soifon's kick with one of her own. She prepared another Cero, but Soifon grabbed and twisted her wrist, a grunt of pain escaping the Arrancar as she glared at Soifon. Quickly, Soifon grabbed April's right sleeve and ripped it off, freezing in disbelief at what she _didn't_ see.

April took this moment to distance herself from the Captain, a smug smile stretching across her face, "Are you looking for that cute little tattoo you gave me a month ago?" She flexed her right arm, twisting and turning it to show Soifon her butterfly mark wasn't there.

"It wasn't really my thing, so I removed it."

"How?"

"That's a secret for now," April grinned, engaging Soifon in more hand to hand combat. "Whoa, you've improved," April mocked, though she was somewhat impressed by the fact that Soifon was able to match her attacks, "But, I won't even need to release my zanpakuto to beat yo-ugh!"

Soifon kneed her in the gut and, after using her as a stepping stone, planted her feet in April's back and drove her into the ground below. She twisted her feet in the fallen Arrancar's back, a quiet groan of pain escaping her, "You were say…ing?"

Soifon felt a strange energy seeping from April, a feeling of unease washing over her. Cautiously, she kicked April onto her back, a shocked expression appearing on the Captain's face as she stared into April's literally hollow eyes. Her mouth hung open, revealing jagged teeth, and her body looked like a frail skeleton.

"But…I can still sense…"

"There's your answer," April stated in a bored fashion.

Soifon turned to see 'herself' reading "_Black Cat"_ and could hardly believe the sight before her. The fake Soifon smiled at her and tossed the book to her, "Seems like a good read…A tough cat latching onto a defenseless puppy…"

The fake Soifon's blue eyes grew dark, her body fading away like dust blowing in the wind as April appeared next to her, "I have an interesting ability, as you can see, though that 'shell' of me you saw was just a little Nightmare Fuel gift from me to you…But I can only use my ability twice a day and…Uh!"

Both of them were suddenly focused on a familiar spiritual pressure that began to fluctuate, alternating between spiking and dropping drastically, until it eventually started to fade.

"Hanataro!"

_**-Elsewhere in the Park-**_

The Mod Soul was still forcefully leading Hanataro, causing him to run into more than a few trees before she finally slowed down. "That's far enough, I-I think…" the Mod Soul thought out loud, glancing down at Hanataro, who was covered in dirt and various debris, "A-are you okay, sir?"

"I'm fine…" Hanataro groaned, picking twigs and grass out of his hair. He stared in the direction they just came from, hoping Soifon would be okay. He let out a surprised yelp when the Mod Soul suddenly lifted him to his feet and began to vigorously dust him off, spinning him in order to get the remaining dust off which made him dizzy.

"Th-there, now you're all c-clean," she timidly stated, giving him a thumbs up.

"Thanks," he said dizzily, falling down and dirtying himself again. The Mod Soul leaned over him, extremely worried. She apologized, asking him forgiveness, and pulled him from the ground again.

"That's okay…" he replied, chuckling slightly, "You were only trying to help…uhhh…What's your name?"

"Th-thank you for understanding, sir, and its Cammy," she blushed. It was weird to be called "sir," especially by a Captain; even though she only _looked_ like Soifon, it was still weird. Her timid nature also added a refreshing quality that Soifon lacked; it made her look even cuter than before. Hanataro looked away when he realized he'd been staring at her for too long.

She tilted her head in confusion and curiosity, slowly approaching Hanataro. Suddenly, she turned around and scanned the area, her body tensing as her eyes narrowed.

"…I sense great danger, sir…" she whispered, hearing a ruffling sound in the trees. Hanataro let out a small yelp when someone suddenly jumped from the trees and grabbed him from behind. Cammy quickly turned and helplessly watched as the mysterious figure wrapped their arm around Hanataro's neck

"Let him _go_," Cammy demanded, taking an offensive stance, "Or else…"

"Or else what, bitch," the white clad figure mocked, tightening her grip around Hanataro's neck, "If you move an inch, I'll kill him! So be a good brat and just stay put."

Apache revealed the apple, gently dangling it in front of Hanataro's face and grinning slyly, "Eat this and I'll let you go…maybe…"

Hanataro stared at the delicious looking apple, barely catching sight of his own reflection in the strangely polished object. What he could see frightened him; his eyes were black and his irises had a strange yellow color, glowing as his skin seemed to turn pale. He stammered, adamantly shaking his head as he struggled to free himself from Apache's grip, "No…I won't eat it!"

Apache let out an irritated growl, "Eat or…"

She paused for a moment, a grin slowly manifesting on her face as she raised the apple to her lips, "…In fact…fine, I'll just feed it to you." With that, she took a huge bite out of the apple. Hanataro watched in horror as she removed two pieces from her mouth, literally dripping with her saliva.

"That's disgusting-ugh!"

Apache forced the pieces into his mouth, receiving a disgusted groan from the boy as she forced him to chew _and_ swallow. Forcing the apple into his face, she threatened to repeat what she did unless he did as he was told. He nodded slightly, taking steady bites from the apple before suddenly realizing something: the apple tasted good. It tasted sour, with a little sweetness to balance it out, and left a refreshing taste in his mouth.

Suddenly, he stopped chewing as a strange and taste filled his mouth and squirmed down his throat, causing him to violently cough and dry heave. His stomach started to hurt, as if someone had stabbed him with an ice pick, and he felt his body go numb. Slowly, his consciousness faded as he slumped over and onto the ground, the last thing he heard being someone calling out his name.

Apache tossed him to Cammy and threw what was left of the apple to the ground, mockingly calling her a "good girl" as a smug grin appeared on her face. Cammy tried to wake Hanataro up, a sight that caused Apache to let out a small laugh as she openly stated how 'pathetic' she was being. "Hmmm…well I guess it's time for me to leave," she stated, opening a Garganta back to Hueco Mundo when she sensed April and Soifon approaching.

Unfortunately for her, April was completely _unhappy_ to see Apache. "_Apache_," she growled, her blue eyes consumed with a dark rage as she tackled Apache into the portal, sending them both back as Soifon arrived at Hanataro's side.

"Hanataro," Soifon exclaimed, trying to wake the boy as she cursed the Arrancar and her friend, feeling more and more frustrated when Hanataro refused to wake up. She turned on Cammy, panic and anger in her eyes, "I told you to _run_! What were you doing?"

Cammy stammered, trying to explain what happened, but Soifon ignored her excuses and chastised her again.

"Captain Soifon," a familiar voice called out to her. Briefly, she glanced up at its source: an approaching Hitsugaya with Matsumoto running alongside him. He watched as Soifon lifted Hanataro from the ground, his eyes widening a bit when he took notice of his worsening situation, "What hap-"

"Out of my way, I don't have time for this," Soifon barked, cradling Hanataro in her arms as she dashed past her fellow Soul Reapers.

_**-Strange World-**_

Hanataro slowly opened his eyes, finding himself in a field of lush green grass. He stared at the gray, cloudy sky above him and took in a deep breath. Mixed with the smell of rain was an underlying layer of blood, an observation that caused him to sigh as he realized where he was; it was a sigh of relief and anxiousness.

Lifting himself from the ground, he spotted a familiar looking village, its houses forming a circle around a crater filled with a strange red liquid. As he travelled the smooth stone road leading to it, Hanataro saw a sloth-like creature drinking from the crater. It had brown fur with two yellow stripes running down its back and big blue eyes that lacked pupils. On its head was a paper crown that appeared to be stapled together.

The creature ceased its drinking as Hanataro approached and slowly lifted its head to look at him. "Hanataroooo, it's so good to see you after such a long tiiime," the creature greeted him in a depressed tone, smiling a bit, "You used to train so often with meee. How come you stopped? No interest in power anymooorrre? Come to think of it…you stopped training when that Captain got huurrrrttt… "

"I…I don't really," Hanataro stammered, pausing as he stared at the bowl before him. It was overflowing enough that the liquid was able to crawl onto the sole of his sandals, a disgusted groan escaping Hanataro as he took a few steps back. The sloth slowly made his way to the boy, his black claws gently scratching the stone path he traveled, "I don't mean to be pushy, but if you let it continue to overflow like thiisss…"

"Hisagomaru, why am I here?"

"Maybe you would have better luck asking hiiimmm…" the sloth replied, pointing over Hanataro's shoulder.

He blinked at this confusing statement, as no one but him and his zanpakuto's spirit should be able to be here. Slowly, he turned and the world around him faded to black; a bright light flashed in Hanataro's eyes, temporarily blinding him. Reluctantly, Hanataro opened his eyes when the light faded away, finding (to his surprise) that he was in a hospital room. He sat up in his bedw, finally noticing Soifon and Unohana standing at the foot of his bed.

"Ah, you're finally awake," Unohana smiled, "How are you feeling?"

"I feel fine, Captain Unohana…" he replied, rubbing his head.

"That's good, Captain Soifon was very worried about you," Unohana smiled. Soifon blushed at this and quickly turned to hide it, causing Unohana's smile to widen, "I suppose I should leave you two alone."

"C-Captain Unohana," Soifon called out to her, "What about the item I gave you?"

"I sent it to Captain Kurotsuchi for a more thorough analysis," Unohana replied, giving her a somewhat worried smile before leaving. Soifon waited for the door to close before approaching Hanataro, her eyes changing from their usual sharpness to a gentler version.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have been as careless as to…I'm sorry…I shouldn't have dragged you along like that…I should have given you time to decide and…"

She paused, as she'd hardly done this to anyone but Yoruichi. Apologizing wasn't something she was used to doing as she believed it showed weakness on her part, perhaps due to her ego.

"That's okay, So-Captain Soifon," Hanataro replied, catching himself before he wrongly addressed her, "I had a good time, aside from the Arrancar attack, and I really enjoyed spending time w-with you…"

"Really," Soifon asked in a surprised tone, blushing slightly before clearing her voice and reverting to her more authoritative persona. "Well, I'm glad you feel that way, Hanataro," she nodded, beginning to pace around the room, "Maybe we could…I mean, maybe _you_ could accompany me to the human world as a guide some other, maybe less hectic, time?"

"O-okay," Hanataro nodded, receiving a nod from her as well.

"Captain Unohana told me you were clear for release anytime, considering how you didn't sustain any injuries and your body's functions haven't been altered…but, are you sure you're okay?"

"Yep…in fact, I've never felt better in my entire life," he smiled, a brief flash of yellow blanketing his blue irises.


	4. Everyone's a little Hollow inside

_**Lethal Hornet, Timid Healer**_

**Disclaimer:**

**I don't own the rights to anything related to the anime **_**Bleach**_

**The rights to that anime belong to…other people…**

_**

* * *

**_

_**Chapter 4: Everyone's a little Hollow **_

Soifon looked at Hanataro for a few seconds, examining him. She could tell he wasn't lying, that he was genuinely feeling fine, but there was something strange about him. His once low spiritual pressure had grown to a noticeable extent, but not so much that it would invite unwanted suspicion, and it slowly fluctuated.

"Captain Soifon?"

She blinked, snapping out of her small trance, and locked eyes with Hanataro. He didn't immediately shift his eyes to random objects in the room like he had a habit of doing, but instead looked at her with slight confusion and worry.

"I-is something wrong?"

She smiled slightly and shook her head, "No, I was just thinking about something. The real question is whether or not you're really okay."

"I feel fine, but I am a little tired," he nodded, letting out a small yawn. His eyes lowered a bit, reflecting guilt and sadness, "I'm sorry I was a burden to you and that you had to bring me here…It must've been troublesome for you…"

"Don't be foolish," she replied in a firm, but gentle, tone. Hanataro gave her a surprised look, blushing as he felt ashamed about assuming how she felt. A silence fell between them, awkward and long, before Soifon moved closer to his bedside. Hanataro felt his face turn a deeper shade of red as Soifon placed the back of her hand on his forhead, leaning close to him as she checked his temperature.

"You weren't a burden to me and I'm just glad that you're okay," she finally said, removing her hand from his forehead and returning it to her side. He nodded, receiving a nod from her before she turned to leave, "I'll leave you to rest now. Oh, and I want you to come to the 2nd Squad headquarters tomorrow."

"How come?"

"General Yamamoto wants both of us to give him a full report on what happened today," she replied with a soft sigh. She looked over her shoulder and stared at him for a second before making her way towards the door, "Don't forget to come to my headquarters first. You don't have to ask permission from Captain Unohana as I've already talked with her about the meeting."

"Okay, I won't forget," Hanataro nodded, watching as she left. A second hadn't passed when she gently closed the door before Hanataro suddenly, and arguably without any thought, called out to her. Soifon poked her head back into the room, a slightly worried look on her face as she wondered what was wrong, "…G-goodnight…"

Her lips parted slightly and her eyes widened a bit, showing that she was somewhat caught off-guard by what he said. "…Goodnight, Hanataro," she replied, smiling slightly, before she gently closing the door again.

Hanataro waited for a few moments before letting out a disappointed sigh, smacking his forehead. He felt like he could have done _something_ more than just tell her "Goodnight".

Now, what that 'something' could be is a total mystery to him, but he should've done it.

"_You'll have your chance tomorrow, remember?_"

_**-Hisagomaru's World-**_

Hisagomaru was lazily rolling from side to side, only time stopping to let out a small yawn every now and then.

"_He's going to sleep now…_"

Hisagomaru simply nodded at the voice and continued his rolling. The moist grass brushing against him as he did so provided a relaxing feeling that caused him to sigh with a hint of joy. He ceased his rolling when he heard the footsteps of his new visitor approaching him on the soft grass.

With one final roll, Hisagomaru landed on his belly and looked up at the visitor.

Staring down at him was the mirror image of Hanataro, though a number of things were different about him: his Soul Reaper uniform's colors were inverted, his skin was as bone white as his hair, his sclera were black and his irises were a piercing yellow.

"_This place is strange,_" the guest stated, looking around at his surroundings.

"Indeeeed," Hisagomaru replied, stretching his furry arms as he let out another yawn, "But it's very nice here once you get used to iiiit…"

The guest nodded at this and turned his sights to the crater, making his way towards it. He knelt down, gazing at his reflection in the crimson liquid; a sudden sharp pain caused him to clutch his head, irritated growls escaping him as various images flashed through his mind.

An unacceptable amount of them were…unpleasant, to say the least.

Angrily, he turned his attention to Hisagomaru and lowered his hands, tightly balling them, "_Those people deserve to be punished…_"

Hisagomaru didn't say anything; he only stared and nodded at the boy, "But that's not up to you or meeee…"

"_I need…no…Hanataro needs to get stronger, right,_" the guest asked, receiving a slight nod from the sloth.

"Though, I don't think he likes to train with meeee," Hisagomaru sadly replied, rolling around again, "But then again, he _was_ busy tending to Soifooon."

The guest's mood brightened a bit as an idea crossed his mind, "_Then I'll train with you and punish those people myself…right?_"

The sloth let out a yawn, "Are you sure you don't just want to relaaaaxx for a while? Roll in the grass, stare at the skkkyyy?"

"_No_…_I need to get stronger, now! If I don't, those people-those __**bastards**__ will keep using me, Hanataro, __**us**__ as a door mat! Do you want that to happen, no, scratch that: do you want it to __**keep**__ happening?"_

Hisagomaru rolled onto his back, staring at the boy with a sympathetic glimmer in his eyes, "Nooooo, but you shouldn't go overboard with this. You may end up hurting yourself and Hanataroooo…"

The guest grew quiet, looking up at the gray sky above the empty village. He knew there would be consequences, good and bad, if he were to do what needed to be done. With a deep breath and heavy sigh, he glanced over at Hisagomaru, "_He's the king of this world, right? A crownless king with a sloth as his horse and a woman as his knight…But…I'm his brother, a brother that only wants to help the king fulfill his goals, destroy his enemies, and live happily ever after. That's what brothers do, right? They help each other."_

"He's never had a brother…I also don't believe he wants one like yooouu…"

"_Then I guess that's too bad…Whether or not HanataBro wants my help, he's going to get it…right?_ _It's only a matter of time before we bond, before the line between me and Hanataro dissolves and we become one…right?_"

Hisagomaru didn't say anything, a small yawn escaping him as he curled into a ball.

_**-Soifon's room in the Fon estate-**_

Soifon stared at the waning moon from her room's balcony, leaning against the railing before closing her eyes. "Maybe it wasn't such a good idea…bringing him to the Human World…" she thought, taking in the night air. A slight chill ran through her as the cold air slipped past the thin shield of warmth her dark blue gown provided, "He could've been hurt or killed…"

She opened her eyes and shook her head before going back inside, closing the sliding door behind her. It didn't do her much good, focusing on what _could_ have happened, "Hanataro _wasn't_ killed and he's perfectly fine…But that Arrancar and her friend won't be when I find them…"

She made her way over to her bed's nightstand and picked up the book lying on it. "Black Cat: Kimi's Desire…" she hummed to herself, reading the book's title over and over again in a curious manner before plopping down on her bed, "What do humans see in books like this?"

Flipping it over, she read the book's summary again. It seemed strange to her, humans writing about the love life of animals. She opened the book and read through the first chapter: "_**Tainted Hierarchy.**_"

It introduced her to Kimi, a young black cat that is somewhat cold and cynical. A little into the chapter she is taking a quick nap, only to be woken up by someone trying to sneak up on her. She berates a cat by the name of Ogi, insulting him for his weight and pointing out that it was the reason he couldn't sneak up on her.

Soifon felt a strange bit of sympathy for the cat as the book revealed her status as the pet of a noble family. It showed how depressed and betrayed Kimi feels now that her owner, Kimiko, one of the family's four daughters, continues to neglect her. Kimi feels hatred and disgust towards the servants that basically do what Kimiko's supposed to, as she feels their caring nature towards her is only fueled by her family's money.

Soifon continues reading to the point where the boyfriend of Kimi's owner is officially introduced. The boyfriend, "Kobi," reminded Soifon of Urahara when she was getting to know him.

Kimi leaves the house in disgust when she sees Kobi, partly because of his 'wet dog fur' smell, and wanders into the nearby town.

A noise distracts her and draws her to a nearby alley where she finds a snow white dog rummaging through a dumpster. Kimi planted her paws firmly on the ground, eyes narrowing on the oblivious dog, and was prepared to start a fight in order to relieve the anger she was feeling at the moment.

"What do you think you're doing, mutt," Kimi asked, growling as ferociously as a kitty could growl. The dog stopped rummaging through the garbage and looked up at her, blinking a few times before letting out a terrified yelp as he fell flat on his back.

"I-I was just looking f-for food, ma'am," the dog replied, his blue eyes flashing with fear as he shook, "Please don't hurt me."

Kimi scoffed at this and berated the dog for being a coward. "I thought mutts were supposed to be 'brave' like that mutt Bolt, not sniveling little pups like you are."

"I-I'm brave," the dog replied, his timid nature being poorly masked by his outburst of confidence, "I once went outside by myself, at night, and walked around town just looking for trouble."

"Your backyard doesn't count as 'around town.'"

The dog stammered a bit and tried to come up with a rebuttal of sorts, only succeeding in letting out a large sneeze that hit the black cat. She lunged at the dog, her claws extended to swipe at his neck, though he clumsily avoided the attack and fled the scene.

The chapter ends with Kimi watching the 'mutt' disappear into a crowd of humans while she notes that his sickening dog scent seemed familiar.

Soifon closed the book and set it on her nightstand. She wondered what the appeal of books like that was to humans, though she found herself wanting to read a bit more before going to sleep.

She sighed and lied down on her bed, resting her head on one of its silk pillows. She shifted a bit before finding a comfortable sleeping position and pulled a dark blue blanket over herself.

_**-Earlier that day in Hueco Mundo-**_

Luppi was quietly humming to himself as he walked through Hueco Mundo's vast desert. He did a small twirl and skipped a bit, kicking up the bland colored sand, before abruptly stopping in his tracks. He felt a strange conflict of spiritual pressures (as in people fighting) that grew closer and closer to him.

He looked around for the sources, but found himself alone and somewhat confused, "Is this some kind of joke?" He heard a low humming sound, like something was charging, and turned around only to be blasted by an orange cero. He dodged the attack, just fast enough for it the char his left shoulder, and gazed at the Garganta portal that appeared before him.

"You bitch," he heard a familiar voice shout as two figures tumbled out of the portal. They landed on the sand and attempted to choke each other to death, with the red-haired Arrancar on top seemingly winning.

"April? Apache? What do you two think you're doing," Luppi cried, pointing at his shoulder in an irritated fashion, "Look what you did to my uniform!" The girls ignored him and continued their fight, with Apache firing a bala that forced April off of her. She quickly hopped to her feet and got into a glare-down with the red-haired Arrancar before they suddenly disappeared.

Luppi turned to hear a loud sound, as if a car collided with a hundred ton boulder, and saw that April had barely missed having her kick elbow-blocked by Apache. She smirked angrily and grabbed April's leg, doing a quick turn before throwing her into the desert below. An explosion of sand was produced when April hit the ground, followed by the explosive force of Apache's bala that supposedly doubled April's injury.

"I honestly don't know what your problem is, _April_…" Apache smirked, spitting at the cloud of sand that covered April, "Heh, I _was_ just following Lord Aizen's orders, after all!"

A surprised gasp escaped Apache's mouth as the cloud of sand suddenly dispersed and April flew at her. She sidestepped a tad bit too late and was roughly grabbed by the collar of her shirt, followed by a sharp pain coursing through her stomach when April suddenly knee'd her. April kicked her away and began charging another Cero, something Apache quickly took notice of.

"Bitch," she growled as a ball of red light began to glow and grow at the tip of her horn. Luppi watched the display of orange and red, shielding his eyes when the attacks were unleashed upon each other and collided with a thunderous boom.

He slowly unshielded them and barely avoided being used as April's landing cushion when she was sent flying at him. Her zanpakuto was drawn and she charged Apache, clashing with the Arrancar's chakram zanpakuto and creating a brief stalemate as they attempted to overpower each other.

Apache smirked before suddenly removing one of her chakram from the stalemate and used it to swipe at April's throat. The attack was barely intercepted and held back by April's crimson tail, a small trail of blood crawling down her neck from where the chakram managed to pinch her. Her tail wrapped around and twisted Apache's wrist, causing her to drop the chakram and grunt in pain.

She glared at April as her other hand shook under the pressure of holding her other chakram against April's zanpakuto. Her eyes widened when eight tails popped up behind April, their tips pointing at her like daggers as small orange Ceros grew on them.

Despite April's tail's firm grip on it, Apace managed to twist her wrist and aim a Bala at April before she could fire off her attack. April quickly broke the waning stalemate, avoiding the attack, and charged another Cero using both her hands: One for a distracting Bala and the other for the actual Cero.

Apache barely avoided the Bala as she dived for her fallen chakram. April took advantage of her slow recover and nailed her with the Cero she was charging, sending Apache flying across the desert. She quickly regained her composure and came to a screeching halt against the sand, "Bitch, I don't know what the hell you're thinking but if you think I'll let you kill me, you've got another thing coming!"

She turned to spit, resulting in a small blood stained patch of sand, and twirled her chakram before taking an offensive stance. April paused for a moment and let out a condescending laugh before pointing her zanpakuto at Apache.

"I'm not going to kill you," she laughed, receiving a confused look from Apache. Her laughter died as her face hardened into a glare, "I'm going to teach you a lesson…I told you to stay away from Hanataro and yet you pulled that little stunt of yours."

Her zanpakuto began to let off a strange, orange glow and her blue eyes began to glow strangely as well. "I wonder how well a fox will do against a deer," she asked, placing her free hand on her chin as she feigned contemplation, "Let's find out."

She raised her zanpakuto and began to move her mouth, a gasp of surprise leaving it instead of her intended words. Slowly, she turned her head to look over her shoulder and saw Ulquiorra standing behind her, firmly grasping onto her raised wrist.

"Ulquiorra, what are you…"

"I must say, I'm disappointed in you, April," he sighed, releasing her wrist and returning his hand back to his pocket. April watched as he slowly moved in front of her and finally realized Harribel was there as well, apparently scolding Apache (judging by the Fracción's expression).

"After all the training you annoyed me into giving you, I expect that you would be able to deal with someone like Apache _without_ releasing your zanpakuto."

"What did he say?"

April returned her attention to a now enraged Apache, pointing accusingly at Ulquiorra and April, "He honestly thinks _she_ could take _me_ down without releasing?"

"Mind your tongue, Apache," Harribel sternly warned her, causing her to grow silent. Apache and April locked eyes for a brief moment before Ulquiorra and Harribel stepped in their way.

"Well, it's about time someone stopped this madness," Luppi exclaimed, spitting out some of the sand that filled his mouth, "They could've hurt someone important, for example, _me_!"

"Luppi, if April or Apache could hurt you so easily then perhaps you don't deserve to be part of the Espada," Ulquiorra sighed. Luppi gasped at this, still spitting some of the sand out, and covered his mouth in his sleeve.

"That's not very nice, Ulquiorra," he whined.

Ignoring him, Ulquiorra sighed and began to walk towards Apache and Harribel, with April trailing behind him. "I don't know what you two were fighting about," Harribel sighed, folding her arms, "But you should report to Lord Aizen immediately."

"Yes, Ms. Harribel," April nodded, glancing at Apache as the group of four disappeared back to Las Noches, being followed by Luppi.

The former Captain smiled at his guests and rested his chin on his wrist as he sat on his plain white throne. "Ah, April and Apache," he coolly greeted them and motioned for them to come closer, "I trust that your mission was a success, am I right?"

"I suppose it was…" April mumbled while glaring at Apache as they both kneeled before Aizen. Apache returned a glare of her own, oblivious to Aizen's piqued interest in their antagonistic behavior.

"Is there something wrong, ladies," he politely asked, never dropping his smile.

"No, Lord Aizen," April lied, focusing her attention back on the man in front of her.

"That's good, now please inform me of how your mission went…"

"It was a success. Apache was able to…" April paused for a moment, and adjusted her anger filled tone to something calmer, "Apache was able to _force_ a Soul Reaper into eating the apple you gave us."

"Force? You didn't ask nicely," Aizen asked the blue-haired Arrancar, though he did it somewhat playfully. She shook her head 'no' and he closed his eyes for a few seconds, "His name?"

The girls looked at each other in a confused manner. The fact that Aizen assumed that the Soul Reaper was male and that they knew his name was a tad bit unsettling. But it could just be a coincidence, right?

Maybe they were just reading too much into it.

_Maybe_

"What is the Soul Reaper's name?" The girls turned their sights towards Ulquiorra in slight shock. He cocked an eyebrow at their stares and motioned for them to pay attention to Aizen, "Aren't you going to answer the question, April?"

"Y-yes, I'm sorry, Lord Aizen…" April cleared her throat before continuing, "His name is Hanataro Yamada."

Aizen's eyes slowly opened at this and his smile seemed to widen ever so slightly. April noticed this and felt a tad bit uneasy, "Yamada, what a familiar name." He let out a sigh and leaned back cozily into his throne, "I have another task I want you, April, to carry out."

"I will gladly carry it out for you, my Lord…"

"I'm glad to hear that. Now, what I would like you to do is monitor Hanataro and report whatever changes you see in his personality, attributes, features, or abilities."

"But, Lord Aizen, how am I supposed to separate his usual personality from his changing personality? It's not like…" April stopped talking when Aizen slowly raised his hand. It began to glow, an eerie white aura gently engulfing it like a flame.

"It's not like you know him, right? But you do know him, or at least May does, doesn't she?"

Her muscles tensed and she felt the stares of the three Arrancar present burn into her back. She opened her mouth and tried to say something, but all that came out was an incoherent, jumbled mess of words.

"M-May?"

_**-Shinigami Cup: Golden (Urahara's Shop)-**_

"Liar," Renji scoffed, receiving a glare from Ichigo, "I just find it very unlikely that he'd be here with her. Hanataro being here with Captain Unohana would be more likely, hell even him being here with Captain Kuchiki is more likely!"

"Agh, I saw them with my own eyes, idiot," Ichigo groaned, shaking his head as he folded his arms, "They were at that book store downtown and-"

"Are you sure you weren't just dreaming it," Rukia asked, looking up from the manga Ichigo bought her, "You do have an overactive imagination, after all."

"I think you're confusing me with Orihime…Tch, why is this so hard to believe," Ichigo sighed in frustration, "I saw Hanataro _and_ Captain Soifon _together_, not separately, _together_ at a book store and I was _not_ dreaming! The humiliation I felt when they saw me with _that_ was _very_ real!"

He pointed at the manga accusingly and Rukia protectively pulled it away from his sights, "Even if what you saw wasn't a dream, what would Hanataro and Soifon be here for?"

"Hanataro said he was being her Human World guide."

"But, Soifon has been to the Human World before," Yoruichi stated, rubbing her chin in a thoughtful manner, "I wonder what she really needed him for…"

"Hehe, maybe Soifon's got a thing for Taro and just wanted to spend time with him," Urahara smirked, waving his fan around. The room grew silent and Urahara looked at everyone around him. It dawned on him that they were actually considering his theory and he let out an uncomfortable chuckle, "You know, I was just throwing that out there for grins and giggles…"

"But you may be onto something, Kisuke," Yoruichi stated. Urahara seemed a little surprised by her statement and let out another uncomfortable laugh while scratching his head, "After all, nothing is impossible."

"Just unlikely," Renji blurted out, "Next you're gonna tell us that the girl Hanataro talked about having a crush on is-"

"Hey, Renji, shut up," Ichigo interrupted, slamming his hand on the table in front of him before getting in Renji's face, "Guys don't reveal that kind of stuff exchanged between guys when in the presence of girls!"

"What do you know about being a guy, Ichigo," Renji angrily smirked as he got into Ichigo's face. A glaring contest ensued between them and lasted for a few seconds before Rukia broke them up. They let out an annoyed "Hmph!" and refused to look at each other, folding their arms to show how irritated they were.

"Geez, it's always something with you two," Rukia sighed, "Now…Hanataro told you he had a crush on someone? How come you didn't tell me?" She received somewhat strange looks from everyone there and Ichigo let out an amused "Tch."

"Because you're a girl."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"If Hanataro had a difficult time telling who he has a crush on to me, Renji, and Byakuya, all guys…Well, Renji is a bit borderline, but I'll count him anyways…" The red-haired lieutenant showed his 'appreciation' for Ichigo's humor by throwing an empty cup at him, though he missed and hit Kon, who had taken temporary residence in the Substitute Soul Reaper's body. "I don't think he'd want us telling a girl, whoever they may be, who he has a crush on. Besides, I already dealt with it."

"Oh really, how," Rukia asked, cocking an eyebrow at Ichigo's confident grin.

"By giving him advice on how to win the girl's heart, of course."

A long silence ensued before Rukia, along with everyone in the room, excluding Orihime and Chad, burst into a fit of laughter. Ichigo frowned at this.

"Wh-what's so funny?"

"What do _you_ know about a woman's heart," Rukia asked between laughter, almost choking.

"Tch, I know enough! Tell her Orihime!"

"Uh, w-well…"

Thankfully, she was interrupted by the opening of a door that revealed a somewhat tired Uryu. His hair was messy and he appeared to be sweating, almost as if he had running from something or someone, while he gently clenched Kon's lion body in his shaking hands.

"Oh, Uryu, w-what are you doing here," Orihime asked, relieved to see him.

"I came to give this back to Ichigo and-"

"Hey, Uryu, don't I know a bunch of stuff about women and how to…" he paused for a moment and snapped his finger when he remembered what he was going to say, "And how to win their hearts?"

Uryu immediately, but casually, exited through the still open door and closed it, hearing Ichigo groan in frustration.

"Forget Uryu," Ichigo sighed, turning his attention back to everyone else, especially Rukia, "The truth remains the same: I handled it with _some_ help from Renji and Byakuya."

"Wait a second, you told my big brother but you didn't tell _me_?"

"The Captain was actually eavesdropping on Ichigo and Hanataro's conversation," Renji admitted.

"Hey, you were both eavesdropping," Ichigo reminded him, receiving a glare from the lieutenant, "And I already explained why I didn't tell you!"

"Hey guys," Urahara chimed in, waving his fan around, "Shouldn't we be focusing on something more important? Like the Arrancar?"

"This _is_ important," Rukia replied, focusing more on Ichigo than Urahara, "So, who does he like? Is it me? I always thought he liked me like that, considering how he always stares at me when he thinks I don't notice."

"He was probably staring because he couldn't believe that midgets actually existed, that is until you showed up," Renji snickered, receiving a glare from the purple eyed girl.

"No, it's not you he has a crush on," Ichigo replied, pausing for a moment before rubbing his chin, "…But that's _really_ up for debate…"

"Oh, then who _does_ he have a crush on? Is she in my Squad? Is she Kiyone? Do I know her?"

"Well you should, she _is_ a Captain after…" Renji paused when he realized all eyes were on him. Ichigo shot him a glare and he covered his mouth, "M-maybe I've said too much?"

"Yeah, maybe you did," Ichigo replied, feeling a tad bit irritated. Rukia's eyes widened upon hearing this information and she gave a large smile as her mind decided, of the two female Captains, which one Hanataro had a crush on.

"He likes Captain Unohana, right?" Ichigo and Renji exchanged glances before turning their attention back to her even larger smile, "I'm right, right? He's got a crush on Captain Unohana, right? I knew it!"

"No, he doesn't have a crush on Captain Unohana," Ichigo sighed, causing Rukia's smile to fall. "When me and big mouth over there asked if the girl he liked was in his Squad he said she wasn't."

"Oh…" Rukia replied, somewhat disappointed. She tilted her head and made a small sound, like an exclamation of sorts, "But that leaves…Captain Soifon? He likes Captain Soifon?"

"Well, Hanataro never actually told us who he likes, but, by process of elimination, I guess you would be right…" Ichigo nodded. "Also he did _kinda_ confirm it when I talked to him yesterday…"

"Maybe I should start my own funeral home," Urahara joked, "Hanataro would make an excellent first customer!"

"But I guess ya gotta give the kid credit for trying to put the moves on someone like Captain Soifon," Renji thought out loud, nodding to himself. "The kid's got guts."

"I hope she goes easy on him," Rukia stated, worried, "But maybe she will like him, right?"

"I don't know," Yoruichi shrugged before letting out a long yawn, "Soifon isn't exactly open with her feelings, except when it comes to rage and annoyance, and she'd more likely go after a man who could keep up with her, somewhat, ability wise."

"And Hanataro isn't exactly a fighter…" Ichigo sighed.

"But he is brave, like when he tried to buy me and Ganju time to escape from Byakuya when you guys were trying to rescue me," Rukia chimed in, "Doesn't that count for anything?"

"That's insane! He actually tried to do that," Renji exclaimed, obviously surprised, "I thought Captain Byakuya was just joking about that…"

"I guess it might," Yoruichi replied, a smile stretching across her face, "Maybe I should go check up on her tomorrow."


	5. A little bit about May

_**Lethal Hornet, Timid Healer**_

**Disclaimer:**

**I don't own the rights to anything related to the anime **_**Bleach**_

**The rights to that anime belong to…other people…**

_**

* * *

**_

_**Chapter 5: A little bit about May**_

A bat-like creature was quietly sitting in the desert of Hueco Mundo. His black wings were gently wrapped around his body and he seemed to be in deep thought, judging by the way his head rested on his fist. The only movement he produced came from the shifting of his eyes from the sand to Hueco Mundo's moon. The piercing green beads that were his eyes slowly scanned the area 180 degrees before him, though he never turned to face the threat behind him.

"That's good, I didn't sense you until you were 30 feet away from me. You've improved, April." He heard a disappointed whine and felt two paws press against his back, "Get off before I make good on my promise to consume you…"

"You're so cold, Ulquiorra," April whined before plopping down on the sand in front of the bat man, "You tricked me into thinking you didn't sense me at all, until I got within five feet of you. That's unusually cruel for you to do."

"If an enemy lets you believe that you have the element of surprise when in fact you do not, they could easily dispose of you in a surprise maneuver," he flatly stated, his wings slowly unwrapping.

"I suppose you're right, but that was still cruel," April smiled, gently waving her tail as she started walking circles around the bat-like creature. Ulquiorra paid no mind to this, focusing on the moon hanging in Hueco Mundo's sky.

"You reek of blood, _familiar_ blood, April," he stated. This caused the fox to stop her walking and plop down in from of him, "You enjoyed killing that weakling, didn't you?" He lowered his eyes to look at her and saw a slight smirk on her lips, "Was he a satisfying meal?"

"He made those damn headaches go away, if that's what you mean," she replied, nodding slightly, "How about you, Lord Ulquiorra? Did you stuff that furry face of yours silly with delectable souls?"

Ulquiorra nodded, feeling somewhat embarrassed that she called him "Lord" again. He was partly to blame for it, considering how he had told her his goal was to become a Vasto Lorde. "Well, _Lord_ Ulquiorra," she playfully said, "Looks like we have something in common!"

From that day, April followed him around and trained with him to hone her abilities as well as to help hone his. She occasionally disappeared to do her own thing, but she always managed to find him again. Not that he minded being alone.

"My, my, my! You two Hollows will do nicely, won't 'cha?" The Hollows quickly turned to see a silver haired Soul Reaper wearing a white haori smiling creepily at them.

"What's a Soul Reaper doing here," April asked, taking an offensive stance next to Ulquiorra. The Soul Reaper tilted his head, placed a hand on his chin, and examined the two as he walked closer to them, "Answer the question!"

"Would it be safe to assume that you're Lord Aizen?" April's eyes widened at Ulquiorra's question and the strange Soul Reaper stopped his approach. She had heard rumors of a man by that name, though she was skeptical to believe that a Soul Reaper, captain or not, would really be dumb enough to come to Hueco Mundo for any reason.

"Me? Nah, Aizen and I are pals," the Soul Reaper replied, nodding. "The name's Gin, nice to meet 'cha."

April couldn't see it from where she stood, but Ulquiorra's eyes widened as a spike in spiritual pressure occurred. She noticed it after a few seconds and felt her body become heavy, causing her to collapse to the sand. She struggled to lift her head and saw a brown-haired, handsome Soul Reaper standing next to the silver-haired one.

"This guy's Lord Aizen," Gin stated, watching as Ulquiorra struggled to remain standing. Aizen smiled and suppressed his spiritual pressure, allowing April to stand again. She wobbled and stumbled, something Gin seemed concerned about, "You're a real show off, ya know that, Aizen? You hurt that poor girl."

"What do you want," Ulquiorra asked. His voice was, under his usual reserved tone, shaky and unnerved.

"An army," Aizen replied, confusing the two Hollows, "You two Hollows posses a high level of spiritual pressure that I desire in an army I am amassing. Most Hollows would hardly be able to breathe, let alone stand or even be able to lift their head, under the amount of spiritual pressure I just suppressed a moment ago."

"Y-you want us to join you," April asked, still feeling a tad bit off balanced. Aizen simply nodded and she let out a low growl, "Why should we? What can you offer us that would make joining you worthwhile?"

Aizen produced a small orb-like item and showed it to the Hollows, "I can give you power beyond your wildest imaginations."

The rest of their conversation was a blur, but it ended with Ulquiorra and April following Aizen back to Las Noches. Its immense size was intimidating at first, but the fox quickly got over it when she saw that Ulquiorra showed no signs of being intimidated. Gin disappeared from the group somewhere between the fifth and seventh long, white hallway they travelled.

"Ah, here we are," Aizen stated as they entered his throne room. He turned to face the two Hollows and smiled, "Which of you would like to go first?"

Ulquiorra stepped forward, but April moved in front of him. "Let me try it first, just to be sure he won't pull something funny," she whispered to the green-eyed bat. He felt the need to protest her protective attitude but remained silent and nodded as she stepped forward.

She felt her body become heavy again and collapsed to her knees as the orb was released from its casing. It produced several appendages that dug into Aizen's right hand and crawled up his skin as it began to glow eerily. He placed his left hand on her head and let his spiritual pressure rise.

"Don't worry, it'll be over in just a few seconds…"

She blacked-out after that and awoke in a small bedroom. A beam of sunlight entered her room, something that greatly shocked her. It was _always_ night in Hueco Mundo, _always_. She slowly lifted her somewhat aching body and stared at the pale, white blanket covering her lower half.

The door to her room opened suddenly, startling her. She watched as a young man walked in, wearing a uniform as pale as his skin with white clothing wrapped around his right arm. He looked at April with stoic green eyes, a green tear line extending from each one, and tossed the clothing on her bed, "You're finally awake, April."

"U-Ulquiorra? What happened to you?"

"The same thing that happened to you: My power was vastly increased." She blinked a few times before bringing her hands into view. They were milky white and humanoid, something that frightened her.

"I'm not a Hollow anymore? Am I a Soul Reaper or, worse, a human?"

"Technically we are still Hollows, April. Lord Aizen, however, labels Hollows like us as 'Arrancar:' Hollows who have obtained the powers of Soul Reapers."

"Arrancar? Powers of Soul Reapers," April repeated with astonishment, "But how?"

"Ask Lord Aizen when you are dressed." April paused for a moment and quickly pulled the blanket to cover her exposed upper body. Ulquiorra closed his eyes and chuckled slightly, "We Hollows don't wear clothes, yet you're embarrassed now that-"

He was interrupted by a pillow smacking him in the face, followed by April chastising him for being a "Pervert!" He sighed and walked out of the room after reminding April to go see Aizen when she got the chance.

She slipped into the clothes Ulquiorra had left and went into her bathroom, staring into its mirror to examine her new appearance.

Her figure resembled that of a 16 to 18 year old human girl with above average height, who was between a size B and C. Her once yellow eyes were now a light blue and she had long crimson hair.

She wore a white, form-fitting vest with a black zipper that ended at the base of her neck. After upturning its collar, she looked at its sleeves. They extended about 7 inches past the shoulder and were a lot wider than Ulquiorra's. She wore white, fingerless gloves that opened an inch past her wrist.

Around her waist was a red sash, at least that's what she thought at first. It turned out to be her tail, though she wasn't very surprised to see it. She moved it around for awhile, making sure she still had control over it, and unwound it from around her waist to reveal her black sash. Her lower half consisted of white pants, white slip-on shoes, and black socks.

After finishing up, she went to find Aizen and ended up running into Grimmjow. "Outta the way newbie," he smirked, pushing past her before disappearing down a hallway. She mumbled something and quickly followed after him, only to find herself lost.

She found it difficult to become 'un-lost' and find Aizen, as she was getting used to her new body's way of tracking spiritual pressure. It didn't matter anyways because he found her instead, smiling as he handed her a zanpakuto, "You left this by accident."

She removed the katana from its sapphire blue sheath, revealing its shining silver blade. A dark red gauge ran along each side of the blade. Its guard was golden and 'V' shaped. Its grip was dark blue with a red, vertical dash on the left and right sides.

She felt an instant attachment to the zanpakuto and thanked Aizen, receiving another one of his smiles. Afterwards, she began training more often with a less than willing Ulquiorra after she learned about 'Resurrección.' Eventually her skills improved to the point where she felt confident enough to go search for that "Hanataro guy."

_**-Soul Society-**_

"_This is where all Soul Reapers reside, why do you ask?_"

"No reason, Lord Aizen," April smiled as she stepped out of a Garganta portal, "I was just curious."

She landed in a forest and used her Pesquisa to scout the area out. No one was nearby, at least not for 20 miles or so. A smile crept across her face and she closed her eyes, imagining the female Soul Reaper Rukia's uniform. Her hair lengthened a bit and changed from a crimson red to a golden yellow color; two blue-band tied pigtails hung to her cheeks.

Though her Arrancar uniform now resembled a Soul Reaper's her tail remained as her sash, albeit white. She dashed through the forest, eventually reaching the Rukon District. The people were all dressed in garbs that suggested they were poor and the buildings that lined the area she was in were rundown, but functional. She hurried out of the area and leapt to a nearby rooftop, activating her Pesquisa. She frowned as various low-level spirits were picked up by her scanner with _none_ of them being _remotely _close to the boy she was looking for.

"Where is that brat," she sighed with frustration before leaping to another rooftop. She stopped and looked off into the distance to see what she assumed was the Seireitei: the home of all Soul Reapers. Lord Aizen had told her about it and the Soul Society, though he didn't reveal very much about either one.

Even with Sonido it took her awhile to arrive within thirty feet of the Seireitei. A gate keeper stood in her path, but opened the gate he was guarding without incident. Once inside, April leapt to the nearest building and began to scan the area for Hanataro's Spiritual Pressure. She waited there for a few minutes before moving further into the Seireitei and trying again, this time receiving an almost immediate hit.

"Found ya," she exclaimed with a smirk as she ran along the rooftops of the Seireitei.

She arrived at a large building with "4th Squad Headquarters" conveniently printed on it for all to see. Casually, April entered the building and blended into the crowd of 4th Squad members circulating around her in a hectic storm of frenzy, "I wonder what's got these guys so wound up…"

"Hey, don't just stand around," a voice shouted.

April turned to its source: a woman of average height with short gray-hair that reached a little past her ear lobes, wearing blue rimmed glasses, "What are you doing just standing around during a situation like this?"

"I was just…I don't even know what's going on!"

The woman cocked an eyebrow at this exclamation and shook her head. "Ugh, a newbie at a time like this," she sighed, folding her arms as she examined April. Her facial expression changed from one of slight annoyance to suspicion as she leaned in closer to examine April, "I thought academy students graduated next month."

"They let me graduate early because I excelled in…" April paused, quickly trying to remember what that thing Soul Reapers do is called, though the fact that it began with a 'K' was all she could remember.

"Healing Kido, right?"

"Y-yeah, I mean, I messed up a few times when I started out, but my instructor said my progress in it was excellent and, well, here I am now," April smiled, feeling confident about her lie. She let out a nervous laugh and scratched her head when a few seconds of silence, at least between them, ensued.

Did the woman believe her?

If she didn't, what should she do?

"Well, that's good, considering how we need all the help we can get. Those idiots from the 11th Squad were out Hollow hunting again," the woman sighed, shaking her head as she closed her eyes.

April tried to suppress the enormous surprise and pride towards she felt towards fooling an experienced Soul Reaper, but a somewhat smug smile managed to manifest on her lips. Luckily, a blonde man wearing sunglasses hurried past them before Yukiko noticed April's smile, "Yukiko! Find Yamada and tell him to go tend to Ikkaku Madarame in room 67W, ASAP."

Yukiko's shoulders slouched a bit and her expression changed to one of annoyance as she briefly glanced at Iemura's fleeting form. She had enough things to do already and didn't really feel like looking for Hanataro at the moment, but she decided it was best to comply, "…Alright, newbie…Wait, what _is_ your name?"

"Apr-May…May Cifer."

She knew that, somewhere in Hueco Mundo, Ulquiorra was cringing.

"Alright, May, come with me. Since you're new you can start earning your wings by working the shift with our resident pity case, Hanataro."

May's eyes lit up when she heard this and she subconsciously smirked. The fact that the Soul Reaper she had developed such a curious interest in was now practically being handed over to her after a somewhat tiring search gave her a feeling of smug joy.

Yukiko cocked an eyebrow at this strange response to her previous statement, "What's with the smirk? You're not on any medication are you?"

"Huh? Oh, uh, no, I was just…I'm just happy to be an official part of the Gotei 13."

"That's good to hear, so don't let anyone ever tell you otherwise," the woman smiled proudly, "We here in the 4th Squad do our damned best to keep idiots like the members of Squad 11 alive, along with any other Soul Reapers and souls living in our humble Society."

A 4th Squad member quickly brushed past them, and Yukiko smacked her hand against her forehead, as if she had forgotten something. "I guess I better take you to Yamada now. He _should_ still be sweeping the eastern hallways. Flash Step will get us there in no time," Yukiko turned to leave but stopped and looked back at May, "You do know Flash Step, right? I ask because its, unfortunately, a little common for members in our Squad, like _Yamada_, to have little to no grasp on how to perform Flash Step."

"O-of course." Sonido was close enough, right?

"Well, that makes one of you," Yukiko sighed before leading the girl to her prize's destination.

-**1**-

"Yamada," Yukiko called out as they spotted a broom wielding Soul Reaper in the distance, apparently startling him as he quickly began to resume his sweeping duties, "I caught you slacking off again, didn't I?"

"I-I was just taking a small break," the boy timidly answered, slowing his sweeping pace as he brushed back the stray strands of black hair in his face, revealing more of his light blue eyes. May tilted her head at this, her mouth slightly open as her eyes held a captivated glow, and briefly locked eyes with him before he bashfully stared at the floor.

"Well your 'break' is over," Yukiko sternly replied, adjusting her glasses. "Now, I want you to head over to room 67W, ASAP. Once there, I want you to tend to Madarame and show her the ropes while you're at it," she pointed back at May.

"Y-yes, I'll get on it right away," the boy timidly bowed. Yukiko folded her arms at this and let out a small sigh before turning to leave, patting May on her shoulder with a hint of pity.

Hanataro lifted his head to look at the girl in front of him and shivered as he took full notice of her strange spiritual pressure, which felt like that of an average Soul Reaper, but it was darker. In fact it felt sinister, like there was some sort of demon dwelling inside her…but Captain Zaraki also gave him that same feeling.

Then again, Captain Zaraki was part of the most vicious Squad in the Gotei 13.

Her smirk did nothing but make him shiver more and her light blue eyes seemed to darken with malicious intent.

"U-uh, we should probably head go tend to Mr. Madarame now, before someone comes and yells at me," he nervously stated, scratching the back of his head. May nodded and followed Hanataro through the various hallways in 4th Squad's Headquarters before they finally arrived at a door with "67W" printed on it.

Hanataro slowly opened the door and poked his head inside, "H-hi, I'm here to heal you." May heard a grunt, followed by the squeaking of a mattress and followed Hanataro as he went into the room.

"Hurry up and get this over with so I can get back to training," Ikkaku grumbled, briefly glancing at the entering Soul Reapers. May stared at the bald man with an unimpressed look. His body was covered in cuts, most of which were bleeding steadily with the rest having apparently been tended to with some kind of blood-clotting ointment, "What the hell are you starin' at?"

"Nothing appealing, I can tell you that much," May smirked. Ikkaku growled at this, but directed his attention, and anger, towards Hanataro.

"Your friend's pretty spunky, kid."

Hanataro nervously nodded and stared down at his zanpakuto. May looked at him, noticing that he seemed to be deciding whether or not he should unsheathe it, and cocked an eyebrow when he drew it. It wasn't that same old butter knife she had seen when she first 'met' him; it was in the shape of a hollow, but otherwise normal, katana.

She silently wondered whether or not this was a different weapon altogether or if his zanpakuto took this form because it had gotten stronger.

"Alright, Hisagomaru," Hanataro thought as he gently pressed the blade against one of Ikkaku's serious wounds, "But don't go overboard."

May's eyes widened a bit as she watched the hollow gauge of the katana begin to fill up with a red light. As it did so, the once large gash on the bald man's chest disappeared and May's eyes widened a bit more. The young healer moved the blade from wound to wound until the gauge was full.

That's when the katana turned into the 'butter knife' she had seen before.

Hanataro set it down on a nearby nightstand and rubbed his hands together before letting them hover over one of Ikkaku's remaining wounds. A gentle green light began to glow around them and the wounds slowly began to close.

"There, you're all better n-OW," Hanataro was interrupted by his yelp of pain when Ikkaku punched him in the arm. He rubbed the impact point tenderly and gave Ikkaku a questioning look. The bald Soul Reaper merely smirked and laughed before slipping back into his shirt and out of the room.

"What was that all about," May asked once Ikkaku was out of earshot.

"Oh, that's just Mr. Madarame's way of saying thank you," Hanataro smiled, still rubbing his bruised arm.

"Damn, I wasted my time coming to make sure you were doing your job, Yamada." The two souls looked at the blonde-haired, sunglasses wearing man who had entered the room. "Or maybe I didn't?"

"Oh, Mr. Iemura," Hanataro bowed, "I took care of Mr. Madarame and-"

"Yes, yes, that's fine and dandy, but now I…" the blonde man paused when he finally took notice of the girl casually leaning against the wall next to him, "Who is she?"

"May Cifer," the girl answered.

"Sh-she's a new recruit and Ms. Seta told me to show her the ropes."

"Well, you can _show_ her the sewers 'cause your on cleaning duty today. So get to it!"

Hanataro attempted to protest, but Iemura left immediately after his last command. With a sigh, Hanataro smiled nervously at May and motioned for her to follow him as he left the room. In a few minutes, they were outside of the 4th Squad HQ, something Hanataro seemed to openly enjoy.

While he loved and respected his Squad, he didn't like being trapped inside 90% of the time. It wouldn't be so bad if he didn't usually get stuck with sweeping the halls or any other sort of cleaning duties, but unfortunately that's what happened most of the time.

He nervously made small talk with the disguised Arrancar, mostly through relaying information about the 4th Squad.

"We have keys to just about anything in the Seireitei," Hanataro explained as he fumbled through his medical pouch, "See?" He showed May a golden key as to prove his point and she nodded, not knowing what else to do.

She watched as he knelt down and stuck the key into a tile. With a loud "click!" the tile popped open and Hanataro moved it to the side. "This is how we enter the sewers," he stated before grasping onto the ladder leading into the opened hole, "Oh, could you pull the tile back on when you're coming down?"

"Gladly," May smirked as she descended the ladder, sealing the entrance off.

This was the chance she'd been waiting for. No witnesses, no one to come and rescue him, no 'Ichigo,' no 'Rukia,' no anything! He was a lame duck helplessly sitting in a fox infested pond.

"It's kinda strange how that's the only sewer entrance that requires a key to use, but that's beside the point. Now, since we're in the western part of the sewer, we should head down that path. It'll lead us to the-"

Something hard jabbed against Hanataro's back and he slowly glanced over his shoulder to see that it was May's sheathed zanpakuto.

"W-what are you doing? That kinda hurts, ya know."

She jabbed him harder, causing him to fall forward. He rolled onto his back and looked at her, shaking as she slowly unsheathed her zanpakuto. "I've been waiting for this for awhile," she smirked, pointing the aforementioned object at him.

"Wha? Why? What did I ever do to you?"

He yelped and held his arms out in front of him in a defensive manner when May swiped at him. He held them there for awhile, slowly lowering them as he grew dizzy from May's rising spiritual pressure. She stared at him in a condescending matter, laughing as he looked up at her with those baby blue eyes of his.

"I guess I just don't like you, that's all, _Hanataro_," she shrugged, smiling as Hanataro shook with fear.

She folded her arms and gently tapped her zanpakuto against her leg as she went into deep thought. Hanataro, after watching her do this for a few seconds, realized now was the perfect time to run away and quickly scrambled to his feet. A yelp escaped him when his feet suddenly came out from under him before he promptly fell to the ground, which nearly caused him to roll into the sewage stream.

Before he had a chance to react, he screamed in pain as May firmly placed her foot against his back. "That's not nice, Hanataro, trying to leave me all by myself like that," she whispered into his ear as she knelt down. She twisted her foot and smiled when she heard him make another pained sound, "But it would be a waste for me to kill someone as cute as you too quickly. So, I'll have some fun with you for awhile."

She removed her foot and kicked Hanataro so that he would roll onto his back. "F-fun," he asked, shaking. The 'Soul Reaper' nodded and leaned on a nearby wall.

"We're gonna play a game called 'Hunt,'" she said as she approached and sat down next to him, "The rules are that there can be at _least_ two players. But one of them has to be the Fox and that role will be taken by me. The other role is that of the sheep, which will be played by you. I hunt you as you try to run away and if I win…"

She didn't finish the sentence, but her smirk finished it for her. Hanataro trembled and watched as she stood up and brushed herself off. Was she serious?

"I'll give you a 1 minute head start." Maybe she was.

"P-please, we have work to do and I…"

"55 seconds," she sternly interrupted. Her smirk had disappeared and her zanpakuto was now once again fixated on him. He started stammering, "43 seconds!"

That got him; he scrambled to his feet and nearly tripped over himself as he ran away. May waited for a few seconds and smiled as she walked after him. No matter where he went, or how far he travelled, she would catch him and pluck the life from those gentle blue eyes of his.

"You'll be my first Soul Reaper kill," she giggled.

"Oh god," Hanataro panted, clutching his chest as he rounded another corner. His feet began to slip and he crashed to the ground, scraping his knee. He scrambled back to his feet and quickly glanced at his injury, vowing to deal with it later before continuing his mad dash through the sewers.

His usual sewer navigation skills seemed to fail him as the thought of surviving filled his head. He had been chased by 11th Squad members throughout his Soul Reaper career and bullied ever since he was a kid, but always came out of it in one piece; even if his bones usually didn't.

This time he really felt like he was going to die.

He eventually arrived at a fork in the 'road' and paused. A lump popped into his throat and sweat trickled down his neck as May's spiritual pressure grew closer. He reflexively turned to see the girl's light blue eyes glowing in the dim light of the sewers.

"_Maybe you should keep running, Hanataroooo_," Hisagomaru yawned, relatively unconcerned about his wielder's predicament. Hanataro nervously nodded and decided to take the right path as it didn't require him to leap across the relatively wide sewage stream.

He looked desperately for another sewer entrance and was filled with joy when he saw one. His pace slowed and his eyes filled with fear when he saw May casually leaning against the ladder leading to his, currently only, means of escape. She smirked at him and made her approach, sending him running in the opposite direction.

He eventually lost her after another 30 minutes of running and collapsed to the ground. A faint humming sound caught his attention and he lifted his head to see a beam of orange light flying over him. May wasn't too far behind and he began to run again, suddenly limping and nearly falling when a sharp pain hit his knee.

Lifting his left pants' leg Hanataro found that his scrape from before was slowly bleeding now, prompting him to let out a small curse before running again. It wasn't until he reached a door located within the southern section of the sewers that he slowed down.

He didn't know where it led to, but quickly opened it anyways.

The lights unexpectedly flickering on temporarily blinded him, but he quickly regained his sight and immediately secured the door.

The room looked like a storage room of sorts and appeared to have been abandoned for quite some time. He looked around and saw several things that looked like they belonged in Captain Kurotsuchi's lab more than anywhere else. The items were indescribable and the only other things there were food supplies probably older than the General himself judging by the dust and mold they had gathered.

"Then again the General _is_ pretty dusty," Hanataro laughed before remembering his current predicament and panicking. To his surprise and eternal relief, he spotted an escape ladder and thanked whatever god that decided to finally help him. His celebration was somewhat short-lived as a knock brought his attention to the locked door behind him.

"Hana, are you in there," a cheery voice rang, causing Hanataro to break out in a cold sweat. May jiggled the handle a bit, but the door remained closed, "Come out and play! It's no fun if you're cooped up in here for the rest of the game!"

"G-go away."

There was a brief silence, "Ahhhhh, so you _are_ in there! Don't worry, I can easily break this door down and when I get inside I'm going to make you regret talking to me like that." Her tone was chilling and sent Hanataro into a mad panic as he scrambled to the ladder.

A crashing sound was heard and Hanataro glanced down from his ascension to see that May had punched through the door. He didn't wait around to watch her complete her entrance and quickly closed the exit on his way out.

He was somewhat puzzled when he realized that, not only was he in a forest, the sun was setting, which meant that he had been running from May for at least five hours! Another thing he thought was strange was the fact that the sewers extended this far outside of the Seireitei. Hanataro turned when he heard a quiet giggle, freezing when he saw May's glowing blue eyes staring at him as she ominously rose from the sewer.

He bolted through the forest, but immediately tripped over a topside tree root and fell to the ground. Rolling over, he saw May standing only a few inches away from him, still smiling her malicious smile, and watched as she unsheathed her zanpakuto again.

Against reality, he hoped that maybe she'd get tired of beating him and leave like most of his harassers did. Then again, most of his harassers, at least from the 4th Squad, never went this far.

Sure he was beaten and chased, but never like this.

"_There's still the chaaance that she might kill youuuu…_" Hisagomaru yawned, using his natural talent for brightening any and every life threatening situation Hanataro was in.

"Looks like I win," May smirked as she dragged her zanpakuto along the ground while ominously approaching Hanataro, "Next, I'll probably go after that orange-haired bastard…"

She let out a surprised gasp when she felt a strange spiritual pressure emanate from Hanataro. Upon closer examination, she realized it was coming from behind him and saw dark red claws tearing through a black portal similar to a Garganta.

Hanataro felt the presence as well and reluctantly turned to see a dark red Hollow with giant claws, a long tail, and a mask that had three horns looming over him.

"SOuL ReApEr," the creature boomed, its voice echoing through the forest, "DIE!" It raised one of its claws and swiped at Hanataro. The young healer closed his eyes, winced, and screamed as he waited for his life to end. Instead, the Hollow merely growled and the hit never connected, at least not with him.

He slowly opened his eyes to see May standing over him, her zanpakuto holding the Hollow's attack back. "Bastard, this is _my_ kill not yours," she mumbled under her breath. "Run, you idiot! I'll deal with this gu-ah!"

She felt a sharp pain in her stomach and slowly glanced down to look at it. The Hollow's tail had impaled her, burning though her body as it melted into stinging acid. She paused for a moment and let out a small cough when she realized that dripping redness was her own blood. The grip she had on her sword began to falter, her body began to shake, and her vision began to alternate from being crystal clear to blurry.

The Hollow pulled its claw away from the stalemate it was in and watched May absentmindedly take a step back. "ReAPer," it growled, raising its hand, "No gOoD, MOVE!"

"May," Hanataro squealed as he watched her get smacked into a tree. He heard a sickening sound as her head snapped back and then snapped forward when she hit the tree. She stood for a few seconds before slowly sliding down and slumping over, with Hanataro watching as blood dripped from where she had been stabbed and slashed.

Hanataro attempted to rush over to her but was abruptly grabbed by the Hollow's tail and lifted off the ground. He stared into the Hollow's bright yellow eyes, shaking with fear, and struggled to break free from its hold. The Hollow only tightened its grip, "RiGhT SoUl ReAper…SwEEt sPirTuaL PreSsUre…NoW yOu DIE!"

Hanataro closed his eyes when the Hollow raised its hands, and waited for his life to end, again. He felt a brief release of immense captain-level spiritual pressure and opened his eyes to see that blood now poured from where the Hollow's right hand was. The creature let out a feral roar and then let out another when its tail was suddenly severed.

Hanataro, still gripped by the Hollow's tail, fell to the ground with a soft 'thud'.

"P-Perry?"

The man before him had long gray hair that had a single brown streak running down the middle of it. His clothing consisted of the standard Soul Reaper uniform, save for the blue samurai-esque shoulder pad on his left shoulder that extended to his elbow. The same thing was on his right shoulder except that it was red along with the gauntlet that covered his right hand and arm.

'Hado' was written in blue on the red one while 'Bakudo' was written in red on the blue one. In his hands were two zanpakuto: one had a red grip while the other had a blue, though both had golden circular guards.

"You okay, Hanataro," the man asked, glancing over his shoulder at the healer with his chocolate colored eyes. Hanataro nodded and finally managed to free himself from the Hollow's severed tail. Immediately, he rushed to May's side. Perry looked at the injured girl with Byakuya-like reserve and pointed both of his zanpakuto at the Hollow.

"Hanataro, tend to your friend there while I finish this bastard off."

May groggily watched as he skillfully flash stepped out of the way of an incoming swipe and perched himself on the Hollow's head as Hanataro nervously reached for his zanpakuto. She looked at him and reflexively smiled before passing out.

When she woke up, May found herself in a hospital room that reminded her of the one she'd woken up in at Las Noches. Her vision was still a blur and she only finally noticed a sleeping Hanataro, slumped in a chair at her bedside, when he began to mutter something before silently snoring again.

She looked at him curiously and wondered what he was doing there.

When she finally remembered what had happened before she passed out she became confused. After all she did, attempting (and failing) to kill him as she chased him through the sewers, he still found it in his timid heart to help her. If she was in his position she would have just killed her and left her to rot in the forest for some poor hiker or small children to find.

"Hey, wake up," she whispered, nudging him slightly as she sat up. He didn't respond so she nudged him harder only to receive more mumbling. She frowned and folded her arms before 'gently' pushing him hard enough that he fell back with his chair.

"Owww…" he groaned as he rolled onto his belly. He rubbed his pained head and slowly got off the ground, "What happened…M-May! You're finally awake!"

He timidly smiled at the girl and walked over to her bedside, "Captain Unohana said you'd be okay, but I just wanted to make sure. I-I mean it's not that I doubt her or a-anything like that!"

"Why?" Her blunt question caused his smile to disappear and a confused look took its place. "Why'd you bother saving me, huh? I tried to _kill_ you! It doesn't make sense to heal your tormenter: They'll just keep coming back to torment you…"

A long silence fell between the two of them and Hanataro nervously scratched his head. "I-I know…But, my dad…" he paused for a moment and locked eyes with her, "My job is to help people, not leave them to die." May shot him a surprised look and was taken aback by his somewhat stern tone.

"And b-besides, it's not like you were _really_ going to kill me, r-right?"

May shifted her eyes around the room before returning them to him and nodding.

"But still…"

"I'm used to that kind of stuff anyways."

May's eyes softened, "What do you mean by you're used to it?"

"Well, I _am_ the most bullied person in all of Soul Society," he smiled jokingly at her, "So I usually deal with being tricked, pranked, bullied, and harassed on a daily basis."

May didn't buy his jokey tone.

"By who," she quietly growled, blushing when she realized her tone had startled Hanataro, "…I mean, who bullies you? Aren't Soul Reapers supposed to stick together or something like that?"

"That's what they tell us but some people can't seem to resist pranking me, especially on my birthday which, unfortunately, happens to be the 1st of April."

May's stomach briefly tightened with nervousness when he said her real name, though she calmed down when she quickly realized he was referring to the month and nodded. She didn't exactly know what was significant about the 1st of April, but she decided to play along.

"Who exactly bullies you, anyone specific?"

"Most of the time its members of the 11th Squad that give me the most grief…"

"Most of the time," May asked him while folding her arms as she cocked an eyebrow, "Who _else_?"

"W-well…"

"The list is too long but, in general, just about everyone gives Hanataro grief."

The two souls shot their attention towards the gray haired man leaning against the doorway leading into the room, "Sometimes you can't even trust members of your own Squad." He pushed off of the doorframe and casually walked over to Hanataro.

The healer's eyes immediately shifted to the floor and saddened.

"Who are you," May asked, breaking the awkward silence in the room.

"I'm the 3rd Seat of Squad 6: Perry C. Vertaine. I'm also the guy who helped keep you two alive." Perry suddenly patted Hanataro on the back, causing the healer to nearly jump out of his chair, and smiled. "However, you should really thank this guy for saving _your_ life. I've never seen him work that hard before and he even stayed here all night to make sure you were okay."

Perry pulled his hand away and thoughtfully placed it on his chin, "Though, that's kind of creepy, ya' know? I mean, constantly staring at you like some Peeping Tom while you're sleeping. It's kind of weird, right?"

"P-Perry, please," Hanataro blushed and Perry laughed, letting the healer know that he was just kidding. Though the man had adopted much of Byakuya's personality, he still found time for jokes and carefree attitudes.

May looked at the two of them curiously, as it seemed strange to her that Perry treated Hanataro with such respect and friendliness. Well, at least when she considered what Hanataro had told her about himself.

"B-besides, Captain Unohana was the one who actually saved her. I-I just did what I could…"

May smiled at this statement. She liked his modesty. It reminded her of Ulquiorra in some unknown way, though he never did openly or modestly boast about his abilities. Well, as far as she knew.

"And the way you sliced that Hollow's hand off before I showed up! I never knew you had that much fighting skill!" Perry paused for a moment and smacked himself on the head before quickly making his way to the doorway, "I forgot, I had to deliver something to Captain Soifon! Top secret stuff, you know. Anyways, get well soon, newbie, and make sure Hanataro doesn't get into any trouble."

"Perry, w-wait, I didn't c-cut that Hollow's hand off…"

Perry paused for a moment, frowning slightly before dismissing Hanataro's denial. "The most modest person I've ever meet, this guy is," he smirked before leaving. Hanataro wanted to call out for him, but brushed the idea away. May cleared her throat and pulled her covers off, revealing her bandaged chest.

"It's safe to assume that you didn't do this, right?"

"I…I bandaged some of it when we were still in the forest, b-but Captain Unohana did the rest…"

"Did you like what you saw?"

May smirked at Hanataro's facial expression. His eyes were wide open, his cheeks were a deep red, and his mouth moved too slow for his rapid stammering, "I'll take that as a 'yes."

"I-no, well-yes, maybe, I really don't, uh…"

"Speaking of the forest," May interrupted, silencing the healer with her raised hand, "What did you tell them, about the whole 'me chasing you through the sewers' thing?"

"I told them that we were just doing our job: Cleaning the sewers. Ms. Seta wasn't happy that I nearly got a new recruit killed," Hanataro replied, smiling slightly.

"That was my fault, not yours," May sternly replied, "If I hadn't had done what I did we wouldn't have been attacked by that Hollow, so don't let her blame you for that. In fact, the next time she disrespects you, like she did yesterday, tell her to go and-"

Hanataro's mouth dropped and he quickly stopped April from finishing her sentence. She smirked when he finally removed his hand from her mouth, noting out loud how aggressive he was just then. He blushed and laughed nervously before Iemura entered the room, practically kicking the door open.

"There you are! Yamada, head down to the cafeteria for breakfast clean up and take Cifer with you, since Captain Unohana cleared her 4 hours ago she could use the exercise. Try not to get her killed this time," the blonde shook his head before leaving as quickly, and suddenly, as he arrived.

Hanataro frowned at this and looked over at May, "I'll go clean up, you just get some re…st?"

He briefly watched as May pulled the covers completely off of herself and hopped out of her bed. He turned away and covered his eyes, blushing again, to give her some privacy. "Those clothes on the hanger there are for me, right," she 'innocently' asked him, receiving a nod.

"You can open your eyes now, it's not like I was naked or anything."

Hanataro complied and blushed again when he saw May's face only a few inches away from his, "You're definitely not a pervert like he is."

"Like who," he stammered, putting a good distance between their faces as he accidentally fell out of his seat.

May giggled at this and helped him up, "I was just thinking about a friend of mine. Anyways, are you ready to go clean some cafeterias?"

"But you're injured still, you should rest and-"

"Don't worry about me, I feel fine," she smiled, blushing slightly as she walked past him and out the door. He watched her for a few seconds before she paused and looked back at him, "Uhhh…which way's the cafeteria?"

_**-Present Day-**_

She smiled faintly as she recalled the days she spent working with Hanataro and how difficult it was for her to maintain a healer persona, especially when considering her difficulty performing Kido of any kind.

Aizen lowered his hand and the glow faded, "That was a manifestation of my reiatsu. Now, the funny thing about reiatsu is that you can see, sense, touch, and smell it upon others, though it's more common to be able to only sense it. Right now you're body has traces of reiatsu from the Soul Society, a place that I am very familiar with, as you all know by now."

April felt embarrassed by this, being called out in front of Ulquiorra, Harribel, and even Apache. "Don't worry, I'm not angry with you, April. In fact, I'm impressed that you managed to keep your treks to the Soul Society secret for so long. However, if Ulquiorra found out about them just a day ago, how long ago do you think I found out about them?"

April glanced over her shoulder at Ulquiorra. His face was as stoic as it usually was, but she could tell that he was surprised.

"I'm sorry for going there without your permission, Lord Aizen."

"Sorry? There's no need for that as, like I said before, I'm impressed with you. It's not like there was any harm done, April. Nothing you did interfered with my plans, although right now I'm interested in hearing about the details of your mission." Aizen turned his attention to Apache and motioned for her to speak.

"Wha-what would you like to know, Lord Aizen?"

"Hmmm, how about we start with what you encountered. Was there anyone with Hanataro?"

"Yeah, some female Soul Reaper," Apache nodded, "At first there was one of her and then there were two of her…I think she was using one of those gigai Souls or something…"

"Hmmm…what did this woman look like? Does she have a name?"

"I don't know, but I think April-"

"Soifon, that's her name," April interrupted Apache, her gaze fixated on the floor as if she were ashamed about something.

Aizen cocked an eyebrow at this interruption and smiled, "Captain Soifon, I wonder how she's been doing…Do you know why they were in Karakura Town, or why Soifon was with Hanataro?"

"No, but it didn't look like they were doing anything too important," Apache shrugged, "They were sightseeing and stuff like that, kinda like a date or something…"

April frowned at this, something Aizen took note of, "Oh really?" He was obviously amused and curious about the scenario Apache suggested. The thought of Soifon going out with Seinosuke's son was something strange indeed. In fact, Soifon dating _any man_ was strange to him.

He always thought she was playing for a different team, but even he can be wrong sometimes.

"Thank you for your report. Now April, tomorrow will you go and monitor Hanataro for me? Or would you prefer if I sent Apache instead?"

"I'll do it," April blurted out. She quickly covered her mouth when she realized how angry she sounded and blushed, "I-I'm sorry, Lord Aizen…I don't mind going to monitor Hanataro…"

Aizen smiled at this and nodded, "Very well then, you're all free to go now."

"What about Grimmjow," April mumbled loud enough for everyone to hear and glanced over to where Grimmjow was 'hiding.' The blue-haired Arrancar grunted and casually left the room, though not before glaring at April.

Aizen motioned for them to leave as well and leaned comfortably back into his throne, closing his eyes. He took in a deep breath before letting out a long sigh, wondering how well his little experiment would work. The last time he performed it was over a hundred years ago and the results were a tad bit disappointing.

His mind was drawn away from his current thoughts and to the man who had silently approached him, "Maybe I should've asked you to monitor him. You know him very well, but then again April's feelings for him may prove valuable in the future. So it would do some good to have her spend time around the boy."

"She is quite fond of him, especially since he saved her life from…what was that Hollow you whipped up called?"

"Gin called it 'Crimson Horn' because he likes naming experiments," Aizen replied, "Speaking of which, I am disappointed in how easily defeated it was. I thought it would last at least three minutes with someone like Vertaine's son, but it lasted half that."

"To an extent I may be to blame for that, remember?"

"Yes, but in the end it wasn't important. Crimson Horn was yours to do with as you pleased, though I'm still surprised that you suggested him for my experiment."

"Is there a problem with using Hanataro?"

"No, in fact it may work out perfectly. When you consider his bullied history, his strange spiritual pressure, and everything else about him, he is the perfect test subject."

The man before Aizen smiled and nodded before turning to leave, "That's good to hear, Aizen. Now, let me just get out of your hair."

"Where are you running off to now?"

"Me? I'm just going to check up on Hanataro, make sure he's doing alright…"


	6. There's This Voice I Hear

_**Lethal Hornet, Timid Healer**_

**Disclaimer:**

**I don't own the rights to anything related to the anime **_**Bleach**_

**The rights to that anime belong to…other people…**

_**

* * *

**_

_**Chapter 6: There's This Voice I Hear**_

_**(April 2**__**nd**__**, Day 1)**_

It was very faint, but Hanataro could tell that someone had been in his room last night, someone whose spiritual pressure was oddly familiar to him. He shook the thought away, marking it as unimportant when compared to what he was supposed to do now.

With a sigh of both excitement and nervousness, Hanataro hopped out of bed. He paused for a moment and flexed his biceps, staring at them curiously as he did so. For some reason, he felt different, _stronger_ different. It felt like he could actually fight now and _win_!

"_HanataBro…_" a voice whispered in his ear, startling him. Nervously, he scanned the room in hopes of finding the voice's source. "Uh…it was just my imagination, I guess…" he nodded, exiting his hospital room.

"Hello, Hanataro," Isane greeted the healer as soon as she saw him, a worried look on her face.

"Good morning, Lieutenant Kotetsu," Hanataro replied, skipping his usual bow, something Isane found to be strange, "Is there something wrong? You look worried."

"Oh, I was just concerned about what happened to you yesterday. When I saw you cradled in Captain Soifon's arms like that, I assumed you were…a-anyways," she nervously laughed, "I'm glad to see you're okay, but are you sure you feel okay enough to be walking around right now?"

"_I feel perfectly_ _fi_-okay…I-I feel okay," Hanataro replied, covering his mouth when he realized the strange tone in his voice, "Besides, Captain Unohana cleared me yesterday…"

"I know, but…"

"And Captain Soifon wants me to go see her today for a meeting with Head-Captain Yamamoto."

"Oh, well I'm sorry for delaying you," Isane nodded, giving him a worried smile before taking her leave, "Just be careful, okay?"

Hanataro gave her a slight nod, quietly watching as she left. He felt suspicious of her for some reason, oddly believing she were hiding something from him. It didn't matter anyways, especially since he had more important things to worry about right now. He soon found himself out in the early morning sunlight, a strange feeling of relaxation filling him as he took in the cool morning air.

His body twitched slightly as he closed his eyesand his spiritual pressure slowly began to rise.

"_As I watch them…look, there! That's how they do it? Just a slight flex of their leg muscles and some concentration…and then…_"

Hanataro opened his eyes to find himself in an alley and began to frantically look around, wondering how he got there, before regaining his composure as he realized where he was.

"_That's all it took?_"

"I must've been so caught up in my own thoughts that I didn't pay attention to where I was walking," he nervously laughed, "The 2nd Squad HQ is just a few more minutes…" Hanataro let out an irritated groan when, after glancing over his shoulder, he spotted a few familiar 11th Squad members.

"He's probably still sleeping after what happened yesterday," Soifon sighed, absentmindedly twirling the pen in her hand, "But he said he was fine, and Unohana did clear him for release today, so I suppose there's really no reason to be worrying about…?"

Soifon paused for a moment when she heard a familiar, but faint, voice and glanced out of her office's window. She heard gruff laughing and, with her curiosity piqued, moved closer to the window. What she saw did _not_ please her, and neither did what she heard.

"Heheh, so it's true about you and Captain Soifon," one man of three asked Hanataro as they walked after him, "I don't know why she'd waste time on a pathetic runt like you."

Hanataro didn't say anything, reflexively taking a step back to keep some distance between him and the men. His eyes narrowed on them and he balled his hands. "_I can take them, __**we**__ can take them, HanataBro_," that same voice from before growled. Hanataro wrote it off as his newfound determination and he couldn't agree more.

Soifon's frown deepened when one of the men grabbed Hanataro by the collar of his shirt and slammed him against a nearby wall, holding him there.

"Geez, you're awfully quiet today," another man chuckled, "Usually you'd be squealing like a girl and pleading with us to go away or something like that by now."

"_I have __**nothing**__ to say to you_," Hanataro quietly growled, his spiritual pressure rising slightly. The men gave the boy a surprised look and nervously laughed, obviously intimidated, until one of them called Hanataro out on his newfound boldness.

"Oh, so now you're acting all high and mighty just because a babe like Soifon decided to show pity on you, huh?"

Hanataro growled in response, his frown deepening as a small crackle of electricity squirmed at the tip of his index finger. "_Let's put them in their pla...ce?_"

"How annoying it is for me to have to work with such obnoxious voices as yours blaring outside of my office," Soifon angrily groaned, drawing the, surprised and nervous, attention of the men surrounding Hanataro. They stammered, making useless excuses that only irritated Soifon, and she narrowed her eyes on them, effectively shutting them up as she then proceeded to chew them out for being a nuisance.

"Now, put him down and _**leave**_," she growled, scaring the men off. She watched their fleeing forms with some amusement, smiling slightly as she turned her attention to Hanataro. Her smile turned into a look of curiosity when she realized he was frowning in the direction the men had ran, his eyes holding a strange yellow tint.

"Hanataro?"

He didn't respond as he continued to angrily stare in the direction the men had ran off in, that strange yellow tint intensifying until she gently grabbed his shoulder. As if he'd been daydreaming, Hanataro gave her a confused look and quickly reverted to his usual countenance.

"Oh, hello, Captain Soifon," he bowed, as if nothing had just happened, "I'm sorry for taking so long."

"That's…fine…" the Captain responded, examining the healer before her. He gave her a confused look as she continued to examine him, blushing slightly when she pressed the back of her hand against his forehead. "You don't have a fever," she mumbled, rubbing her chin thoughtfully.

"Why would I," Hanataro asked, checking his own temperature, "D-do I look sick or something? B-because I feel fine…"

"No, I was just…never mind," Soifon sighed, smiling slightly before quickly wiping it away and clearing her throat, "Anyways, we should be leaving now, as I'm sure Head-Captain Yamamoto would like to hear any information we can offer him about what happened yesterday."

Hanataro nodded and followed after her as she led the way. With a slight pause in her movements, Soifon glanced over her shoulder when she sensed a familiar spiritual pressure, spotting a smiling woman waving at her.

"You're _back_," she mumbled, frowning at the woman before returning her attention to the path before her.

"The Head Captain will see you now," a receptionist bowed to Captain Soifon.

She returned a nod and motioned for Hanataro to follow her. Within five or so minutes they arrived at an average looking door with "Head Captain" carved into it.

"Enter," a powerful and old voice boomed in response to Soifon's knocking.

"W-what do I say," Hanataro stammered as Soifon opened the door.

Soifon paused for a moment before glancing over her shoulder at the boy, smiling slightly, "Don't worry about that. I'll be doing the reporting and any questions the Head Captain might have will most likely be directed towards me. However, if the Head Captain does ask you a question just do your be-"

"Captain Soifon, it is impolite to keep an old man waiting," Yamamoto sighed.

"I-I apologize, Head Captain," Soifon bowed as she entered the dimly lit room the Head Captain was located in, "We've come to give you the report you requested, Head Captain."

"Then inform me of the events that transpired yesterday during your trip to the world of the living, Captain Soifon."

"While exploring the Human World, Squad 4's Seventh Seat, Hanataro Yamada, and I were attacked by two Arrancar," Soifon began, relaying whatever relevant information she had learned about April to the Head Captain, "The other Arrancar attacked Hanataro, forcing him to consume a strange apple. I heard April yelling 'Apache' as she tackled the other Arrancar through some strange portal, but I do not know 'Apache's' abilities."

"The Arrancar forced the boy next to you to consume an apple? Has he been examined for any abnormal changes and has the apple been recovered for examination?"

"Y-yes sir, Captain Unohana has examined Hanataro and the apple has been sent to Captain Kurotsuchi for examination," Soifon replied, glancing over at Hanataro who trembled slightly as the General stared at him.

"…Yamada…" the Head Captain hummed, feeling somewhat nostalgic, "Hanataro Yamada, do you have anything to say?"

"Uh, w-well, I'm not really sure what to say, uh, H-Head Captain Yamamoto, sir," Hanataro stammered.

The General hummed, scratching his long white beard, and scrutinized Hanataro's looks. "Yamada," he began, drawing the boy's attention, "Would you kindly allow me to speak with Captain Soifon alone?"

Hanataro nodded slightly, bowing before leaving the room. Captain Soifon gave the General a confused look, attempting to speak before being immediately stopped by the General's raised hand.

"Why exactly did you decide to bring a member of Squad 4 with you to the world of the living, Captain Soifon?"

"I was just conducting simple reconnaissance, so I didn't feel the need to bring…uh…I…I don't really have much of a reason, I suppose," Soifon lied, "M-may I ask why you'd like to know, sir?"

"The boy seems ill-suited for 'simple reconnaissance,' doesn't he?"

"Well, yes…but…" Soifon paused for a moment, quickly going through every possible excuse she could think of at the moment. Her eyes widened slightly and a small, quickly suppressed, smile appeared on her face, "I merely brought him along for healing purposes. In case I were injured if I encountered an Arrancar."

"Could not someone else from Captain Unohana's Squad fulfill that purpose?"

"They could, but Captain Unohana recommended Yamada to me, so I had no real reason to doubt that he would be a good choice for the mission I was going to conduct."

"Hmmm," the old man mumbled, sighing before tapping the floor with his cane, "I suppose it doesn't matter, you're dismissed."

"Yes sir, Head Captain…" Soifon bowed before exiting the room, coming upon an anxiously pacing Hanataro.

"Oh, Captain Soifon," Hanataro greeted the woman, "Um, is there anything wrong?"

"No, everything's fine…" Soifon replied. She paused for a moment, shifting her eyes between Hanataro and the ceiling, before clearing her throat, "Hanataro, I would like to…um…escort you to the 4th Squad HQ."

"R-really, why, I mean it's not that I really mind you doing it," Hanataro blushed, trying his best to casually hide it, "But, I just thought that you'd like to get back to work as soon as possible and-"

"Hanataro," Soifon calmly interrupted him, her voice somewhat quieter than usual, "I am merely doing this as a mutual convenience, if that makes sense, since I'm already going to be walking past the 4th Squad HQ on my way to see Captain Kurotsuchi, and my presence will prevent you from being harassed."

"Oh, I understand," Hanataro nodded.

-**1**-

"Don't be so nervous," Soifon sighed, glancing over at the nervous healer who was, unbeknownst to himself, walking closer to her than she'd expect him to, "And stop stepping on my toes."

"A-ah! I'm sorry, Captain," he stammered, obviously not catching her joke.

"Don't be, I was just kidding," Soifon sighed as she casually led the boy to a street she knew few people used. The boy eased up noticeably, blushing and quickly moving away when he realized how close he had gotten to the Captain. "Are you afraid of me," Soifon asked, half-seriously, half-jokingly with a slight smile.

"Ah, no-no, I'm not afraid of you, Captain."

"Well, you should be," Soifon sternly replied, stunning Hanataro before she softened her looks again, "It means I'm doing a good job as a Captain…but, if you don't that's fine…since you're not in my Squad."

"What would you do if I _was_ in your Squad," Hanataro calmly asked.

Soifon smiled slightly, hidden from Hanataro's view, and glanced over her shoulder, "I woul-"

"There you are! I guess what Ichigo said _was_ true, though I wouldn't have believed it if I didn't see it for myself," a familiar voice exclaimed, greatly surprising Soifon. The two Soul Reapers turned their sights to the dark-skinned smiling woman perched on a nearby wall. She casually hopped off, landing gracefully on the tiled streets below.

"Lady Yo-I mean, uh, Yoruichi," Soifon corrected herself with a cough, causing the dark-skinned woman's smile to widen, "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I was just escorting Rukia and Orihime back to the Soul Society, and I was curious about something Ichigo had told me. It had something to do with you having a boyfriend of sorts," Yoruichi grinned as her former student blushed, stammering as she came up with a, rather unconvincing, response.

"I do not," she shouted, attempting to suppress the blush on her face, "Kurosaki is a pathological liar and his assumptions are not to be trusted _at __**all**_!"

"Calm down, Soifon, there's no need to get so worked up," Yoruichi laughed, pointing at a blushing Hanataro, "You're embarrassing your boyfriend."

"He is NOT…" Soifon paused for a moment, glancing over her shoulder at the blushing medic behind her, and calmed herself, "He is not my boyfriend…he's my medic…"

"Any intimate healing?"

"No…" Soifon bluntly replied, as if in response to another question she assumed Yoruichi would ask. She frowned slightly, examining with more scrutiny what Yoruichi had just said, "Oh…_oh_…_**OH! N-no, no, no, no, no!**_"

"You're usually faster than that, Soifon," Yoruichi laughed, before turning her full attention to Hanataro. Soifon watched with curiosity as her mentor approached to boy, leaning in to get a better look at his blushing face. "Hmmm…yep, just like him…" Yoruichi mumbled, rubbing her chin in a thoughtful manner, "Hairstyle's different, but, other than that, you look just like him…"

"Like who," Hanataro asked as the dark-skinned woman pulled away from him, smirking.

"Oh, just an old friend of mine," Yoruichi answered, stretching her arms and yawning, "Huuhmm….Anyways, do you remember me?"

"_She's that lady who kidnapped-_"

"_Saved Ichigoooo…_"

"You rescued Ichigo from Captain Kuchiki, uh, Ms. Yoruichi, right?"

"Yeah," Yoruichi smiled, though her somewhat sad tone betrayed it, "Well, I guess I better go and supervise Rukia and Orihime's training, you two take care now."

"Bye, Ms. Yoruichi," Hanataro bowed, receiving a nod from the woman as she turned to leave.

Soifon gave her mentor a nod as she walked past her, becoming startled as she felt the woman's hand firmly grasp her shoulder. Out of the corner of her eyes she could see Yoruichi's, narrowed and serious, as if she were upset about something.

"You do remember 'him', right," she asked, her voice softer than a whisper. Soifon shifted her eyes, setting them briefly on the clueless Hanataro before returning them to Yoruichi.

"Vaguely…" Soifon softly replied, yelping when Yoruichi suddenly slapped her on the back.

"See ya later, Soifon, and try to go easy on your boyfr-I mean, 'medic'," Yoruichi laughed before Flash Stepping away.

Soifon resisted the urge to loudly deny Yoruichi's 'accidental' slip up, finding herself in deep thought. Hanataro quietly watched her, his worry for her increasing with the widening gap of silence between them.

"She was talking about…ah…" Soifon sighed, sadly frowning at the pale-white tiles beneath her, "That was so long ago…"

"Captain Soifon, are you okay," Hanataro cautiously asked, not wanting to upset her if he had interrupted her thinking.

"…Yes…" she bluntly replied, not even sparing him a glance as she began to, once again, lead him through this little detour they'd taken.

The rest of their walk was in silence, save for the distant voices they heard. Hanataro wondered whether this detour was driven by the shame/embarrassment she felt at having to be seen with him or if this was just her personal preference.

His head suddenly throbbed with pain and he clutched it, letting out a small groan that didn't go unnoticed by the Captain in front of him. She abruptly stopped and turned, narrowing her eyes on him as she scrutinized his looks.

"…Are you okay," she finally asked after several tense seconds, "You sounded like you were in pain."

"Uh, yes, I-I'm fine, Captain, it was just a brief headache," he laughed, scratching his head in embarrassment. Soifon continued to stare at him, her eyes softening for a moment before she turned around and resumed leading Hanataro through her detours.

The silence made the ten to fifteen minutes trip seem like an eternity had passed when they finally arrived t the Fourth Squad HQ. Hanataro, as Soifon came to a stop, wondered what he should say, other than "Thank you, Captain Soifon."

"We're here," Soifon stated, interrupting Hanataro's thinking process, "…Have a good day at work…"

"Y-you too, Captain Soifon," Hanataro nodded, giving the woman a reluctant wave as she took her leave. Once she was out of sight, Hanataro dropped his wave and slapped himself on the forehead, "What a stupid thing to say, 'You too'? _That's_ the best I could come up with? Ugh!"

He let out an exasperated sigh and entered the building before him, sulking as he did so. His moment of angst was promptly interrupted by the pink ray of adorable sunshine that little Yachiru radiated as she hopped around the 4th Squad lobby.

"Hmnmmm? Oh, Taro," Yachiru giggled as she took notice of the boy, bouncing over to him in an instant. The boy let out a small yelp as he caught the girl's jumping hug, her suddenly added weight nearly throwing him off balance, "What are you doing here?"

"Uh, I work here, remember," Hanataro replied, smiling slightly as he gently set the girl on the floor.

"Oh, I forgot, sorry," she giggled.

"That's okay, anyways, what are you doing here?"

"I was just-"

"There you are, _Yamada_…"

Hanataro's eyes widened with surprise and he quickly spun around. "Ms. S-Seta," he stammered, giving the woman a quick bow, "Is something wrong?"

"Yes, you're slacking off," the woman frowned, adjusting her glasses, "I don't know where you've been all morning and, frankly, I don't care. Right now I want you to go to the west wing, tend to the patient in W27, and then sweep the northern halls until further instruction. Understood?"

"Y-yes, Ms. Seta…Bye, Yachiru…"

"Bye, Taro," the girl happily waved as the boy skulked away.

_**-Secluded part of the Rukon District, a few minutes earlier-**_

"_April, take this with you during your trip…_" Ulquiorra had told her, handing her one of his eyes.

"_Ewwwww-why?_"

"_I want to observe this boy Lord Aizen has shown interest in as well. Because of my spiritual pressure I'm afraid I won't be able to do so in person, but my eye will record whatever it observes and allow me to view its contents later._"

"_Fine, but I am not carrying that thing…_"

April sighed as she stepped out of the Garganta she had created, quickly closing it out of fear of being spotted. She relaxed when she realized no one who could pose a threat to her was within a mile of her location, allowing her to transform into May without fear of any witnesses.

She glanced at her side when she heard the soft flapping of wings, spotting the vessel she had stored Ulquiorra's eye in: a black crow with a green and yellow eye. She whistled for the animal, granting it permission to perch on her shoulder and promptly Sonido'd towards the Seireitei.

"I wonder if he'll remember 'me'…it's been so long since we last saw each other," May mentally paused for a moment as she passed through one of the Seireitei's gates, "Well, since he and 'May' last saw each other…and I hope he's okay after what that _bitch_ Apache did to him…"

Her fists tightened at the thought of what she would do to the aforementioned girl if something bad had happened to Hanataro, pulling her away from the reality around her. The crow on her shoulder let out a fear filled 'CAW' before the girl casually jumped over the wall they were about to crash into.

"I'm not _that_ far gone," she growled at the crow before gracefully landing on the other side of the wall. She paused for a moment to collect her thoughts, leaning against the wall for comfort. "Where was it again…" May mumbled, activating her Pesquisa, "…Ah!"

The crow yelped as May suddenly jerked away from the wall and returned to running, making various sharp turns with her Sonido, until they arrived at a large, white building.

"Here we are…" May stated to no one in particular, taking in a deep breath before casually walking into the building, "Now, you just keep quiet, alright?"

The crow nodded, flapping its wings to further show its compliance. May smiled at it before scanning the lobby they found themselves in, finding that no one was paying much attention to them. "So far so good," May sighed as she walked through the lobby, her Pesquisa activated.

May sighed again, this time with relief as she pinpointed Hanataro's Spiritual Pressure, finding that it had returned to normal. It didn't take her long to reach the boy, finding him sweeping the northern halls by himself.

"…Okay, May…" the blonde girl stammered as she peered at the boy from behind a corner, mentally preparing herself, "Just go and say 'hi' or something…"

Hanataro paused his sweeping and slowly scanned the area, tensing up. "Uh, is anyone there," he nervously asked, the grip he had on his broom tightening, "Hello?" He eased up when the strange Spiritual Pressure he felt immediately disappeared, followed by the appearance of a familiar looking girl.

"May," Hanataro asked in a surprised tone, drawing the girl's attention to him.

"Hanataro," the girl exclaimed as if she hadn't planned this, rushing over to give the boy a hug, "It's been so long since I've seen you! How've ya been?"

"Oh, I've been fine," Hanataro blushed as the girl released him, "What about you?"

"I'm fine, a little tired, though," May replied, smiling as she gave Hanataro a thumb up. She leaned back a bit, shrugging her shoulders as if they were stiff, and let out a long yawn, "Well, since I'm here, is there anything you need help with?"

"Uh-oh, no, I was just sweeping the halls, that's all…Ms. Seta told me to do this until I receive new orders," Hanataro replied, resuming his sweeping, "And I-wait...Is…is that a bird on your shoulder?"

The crow proudly flapped its wings and cawed, receiving a glare from May as a result. "Yeah, um, I kinda lost a bet, so I have to carry this around for awhile," May nervously laughed, followed by the crow.

"Oh, right, okay," Hanataro nodded, "Well, it looks really cool on you."

"Thanks," May blushed, "Why don't I take over sweeping for you? You look like you could use a break and it's not like I have anything better to do."

"Thanks, but I…O-oh, hello Ms. Seta."

May glanced over her shoulder to see the aforementioned woman giving her a strange look. "…Cifer…May Cifer, right," she slowly asked, ignoring Hanataro's greeting. May gave her a slight nod and she thoughtfully scratched her chin, "Um…hmmm…Where have you been? It's been weeks since I've seen you."

"Oh, I had to visit my family for awhile. Something…happened…and Captain Unohana told me to stay with them as long as I needed until the issue was resolved," May lied through her teeth, faking a sad smile.

"Oh, well, as long as Captain Unohana gave you permission to do so…" Yukiko shrugged, causing May's 'sad' smile to widen ever-so slightly, "…But…why do you have a-

"I lost a bet," May quickly replied, followed by the crow letting out a proud 'CAW!'

Yukiko stared at the girl with confusion, shaking her head as if it would help get rid of her shock, before continuing, "…Anyways, uh, Yamada…what was I going to say? Um-oh, Yamada, go and collect blood sample, uhh, _April 1__st_. It's the most recent one and it _should_ have your name on it, unless someone else was slacking off…"

"Where do I go find it?"

"Huh? Oh, right, just head over to the lab down the hall and then bring it to Captain Unohana…She wants you to take it to her, for some reason, so don't mess up…" Yukiko sighed before leaving.

"Alright, looks like we've got something to do," May stated, nudging Hanataro, "Lead the way, okay?"

"Sure…"

"So, we just take this to Captain Unohana, right," May asked Hanataro as she examined the red liquid filled vial her hands gently held.

"Yep," Hanataro nodded, pausing while May gently handed him the vial, "What are you…"

"It's your blood, right? I thought you might want to be responsible for its safety, unless you want me to carry it."

"Oh, no, I was just wondering why you gave it to me," Hanataro blushed, staring at the vial as he led May to Unohana's office, "I don't mind carrying it, I just thought you wanted to do so."

"Nah…But, there's something I want to know…"

"What is it?"

May paused for a moment, shaking slightly and clenching her fist in anger, before continuing, "Why'd you get your blood drawn yesterday? Were you…hurt or something?"

"Oh, well…Do you know what Arrancar are?"

"Kinda…" May lied.

"Well, yesterday Captain Soifon and I went to the world of the living and we were attacked by two Arrancar."

"That's terrible, were you hurt," May asked, 'forgetting' the Captain.

"No, but one of them forced me to eat this strange apple. After I ate it I started feeling sick and, eventually, passed out. When I woke up, I found myself in one of the hospital beds here."

"Are you okay," May asked, contemplating what she would do to Apache if he said anything but 'yes'.

"Yeah, Captain Unohana said nothing was wrong with me, but suggested that I get some rest."

"T-that's good," May smiled, relieved at the news. Her smile faded when, further down the hallway, they heard the clattering of plates against the tiled floors and some laughing. The two Soul Reapers made their way towards the sound, with May leading the way, and found a young nurse picking up the aforementioned plates with a bandaged Squad 11 member laughing at her.

"Clumsy little bitch, aren't ya," he smirked, "You should watch where you're going!"

"Yes, I'm sorry, I-ah!"

May watched with surprise and anger as the man pressed his foot against the nurse's back, digging his heel into her spine. She angrily glanced at the Squad 4 members around her, muttering to each other from the doorframes of the rooms they were standing in how they never seem to "get a break from those 11th Squad jerks."

Before she could intervene or even say anything, Hanataro spoke up with irritation lacing every word he spoke.

"Help her pick those up…"

The man looked up at Hanataro, shooting him a look that said he was an idiot for interrupting his fun, and removed his foot from the woman's back. "What did you just say, kid," the man asked, growling.

"I didn't _**say**_ _anything_," Hanataro replied, his eyes briefly flashing yellow as he calmly approached the man, "I _**commanded**_you to help her pick those plates up."

May, along with everyone else, stared at the boy with astonishment and was hardly able to contain the smile that had stretched across her face.

"Ha! Coming from little 'Hanako'? Why the hell should I listen to you," the man growled.

"_Because,_ when a seated or unseated _**mutt**_ like you enters the HQ of another Squad you are under the authority of anyone of a higher rank there, such as myself," Hanataro calmly replied, taking another step towards the man, "Now, I can't ask you to perform any Squad duties, such as healing a patient, _but_ I can order you to help pick up those plates…"

The man growled, clenching his bandaged fists and grinding his teeth, "Oh, I'll help pick something up, you little brat!" The woman yelped as the man forcefully pulled her from the ground, throwing her at Hanataro.

"_Don't worry HanataBro, I-ugh!_"

Hanataro suddenly clutched his aching head, resulting in him falling to the floor with the woman as she collided with him. His eyes widened when he heard the vial shatter against the floor, its liquid content creating a red blotch on the floor. He stared at the blotch for awhile before shakily getting to his knees, accidentally touching it. A strange feeling began to bubble inside Hanataro as he stared at his reddened palm; it was a mixture between disbelief and quiet rage.

"…Are you…okay…" Hanataro quietly asked the girl next to him.

"Y-yes, thank you, Hanataro," the girl nodded, watching as the boy silently got to his feet.

"You jerk," May exclaimed, "Instead of being such an ass, you _should_ have helped her! That's the least you could have done for someone who'd eventually end up saving your sorry life!"

"Shut the hell up," the man barked, raising his fist, "You little bitch!"

May watched this with slight amusement, casually raising her arm as the man brought his fist down. He'd break his arm the second he made contact with her, but that second never came. In front of her with his reddened hand tightly clenched on the man's wrist, was Hanataro, to her eternal surprise. The man struggled to free his wrist from the boy, the desperateness of which increased when he stared into Hanataro's piercing yellow eyes.

"_What an __**ass**__ you are…_" Hanataro growled as he tightened his grip, causing the man to cringe in pain.

"Hey, leave Hanataro alone!"

"Wha…" Hanataro mumbled, his eyes returning to their usual color and his bold attitude disappearing. He looked over the man, whose wrist he still gripped, to see Yachiru perched on Perry's shoulder, frowning at the 11th Squad man before Hanataro. "Is he bothering you, Taro," the girl asked as she hopped off the gray-haired man's shoulder, quickly moving to Hanataro's side, "Because if he was I'll make sure he gets beat up real good!"

"Huh, oh, no, he wasn't bothering me," Hanataro nervously laughed, releasing the man, "He was just busy telling me how much he'd like to help clean up this mess he made, right?"

"What? But, I, uh, I…" the man stammered as he rubbed his pained wrist.

"That's quite a mess you made, pal," Perry casually chimed in, scanning the plates on the floor along with the blotch of blood, "I'm glad to see you're so willing to help clean it up…_**now**_…"

"Y-yeah, of course," the man nervously laughed, quickly getting to his knees and placing the plates in the tray he'd caused the woman to drop.

"Thank you, Perry, and you too, Yachiru," Hanataro bowed, receiving a giggle from the girl and a nod from the man, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go see Captain Unohana…"

"No problem, I'll just stay here to make sure our 'good Samaritan' does what he's supposed to."

"Bye, Taro," Yachiru exclaimed, waving to the boy as he left with May.

"Come in," Unohana chimed, smiling as her office door opened, "Ah, Hanataro, how are you do…Hmmm? Wasn't there someone with you?"

"Oh…yes, she had to go to the bathroom," Hanataro replied as he entered the room. He paused for a moment before shifting his eyes away from Unohana to the young woman standing next to her desk, "Lieutenant Kurotsuchi, what brings you here? I mean, if you don't mind me asking…"

"I am here to retrieve the blood sample Captain Kurotsuchi requested," Nemu replied, "I trust that you have it, correct?"

"…I did, but the vial broke and…" Hanataro muttered, slowly raising his bloody hand.

"Hanataro, did you cut yourself," Unohana worriedly asked, getting from her seat to approach the boy.

"N-no, I accidentally touched the blood after the vial broke," he answered, blushing as the woman looked his hand over, "I'm sorry, I…"

"It's okay, we can get another sample right now," Unohana smiled, "But I want you to wash your hands first, alright?"

"Yes, okay…"

"M-May Cifer, Captain Unohana," May timidly replied, suppressing as much of her spiritual pressure as she could and praying that Unohana wouldn't figure out who/what she was.

"It's nice to meet a friend of Hanataro's," Unohana smiled at the girl, glancing at the bird on her shoulder, "I see you lost a bet."

"No, I…wait, y-yes, I did…"

"Oh well, you win some, you lose some…But are you sure you don't want to wait outside? I ask because some people get a bit squeamish when they see blood."

"Oh, no, I'm fine and trust me when I say I've had _my_ fill of blood."

Unohana nodded and grabbed the needle she had set aside after preparing Hanataro for the extraction. He cringed when the needle poked through his flesh, as he never really liked needles, and sighed with relief when it withdrew.

"There," Unohana sighed, examining the blood filled syringe, "Let me just place this in a vial for you, Lieutenant Kurotsuchi. You're free to go, Hanataro…Is something wrong?"

Hanataro woozily shook his head, almost stumbling out of the seat he was in. Unohana placed her hand on his forehead, frowning slightly, "You should rest for awhile and drink some water, okay?"

"O-okay, Captain…" Hanataro nodded, woozily attempting to remain standing before May helped to steady him. He clutched his head, as if that would help sooth his dizziness, leaning against May for support as she led him out of the room.

"Do people normally act so 'woozy' after getting their blood drawn by you, Captain Unohana," Nemu asked, watching as the woman transferred the blood into a vial, "And, for clarification, is one's blood usually that dark?"

"No," Unohana replied, staring at the dark red liquid before handing the vial to Nemu, "Please, whatever your Captain finds out will you report it to me? Oh, and will you tell Captain Soifon as well? I'm sure she'd like that."

"Yes, she made that _very_ clear when she visited Captain Kurotsuchi and myself earlier today day," Nemu replied, giving the smiling Captain a slight bow before leaving.

**-Later that evening, around 4:17, in a small garden-**

"This is nice, isn't it," May smiled as she glanced at Hanataro, "No more work for the rest of the day, no noise, and it's just the two of us…"

"Yeah, it is really ni…ugh…" Hanataro groaned, clutching his head.

"Have some more water."

"Thank you," Hanataro nodded as he took a bottle from the girl. After taking a sip, Hanataro set the bottle down and began to stare absentmindedly at the sky, frowning slightly.

"Is something wrong," May asked, scooting a little closer to the boy, "Do you feel like getting something to eat?"

"No…well…maybe…"

"What do you have in mind?"

"Dumplings, I mean, if that's okay with you."

"Sure, like last time," May asked, receiving a nod from the boy, "Alright then, just let me go and get them."

"Wait, maybe I should go," Hanataro suggested as the blonde girl hopped to her feet, causing her to frown.

"Why, because you think I forgot where that dumpling shop you took me to was?"

"No, I…never mind," Hanataro sighed, turning his sights to the grass at his feet.

"Then it's settled…I'll be back in a little bit," May sighed, giving Hanataro a worried look before turning to the crow on her shoulders, "Stay here with Hanataro, okay?"

"Caw…" it responded, hopping off the girl's shoulder and over to Hanataro's side. Hanataro, noticing she had left, scanned his surroundings as if he was in a foreign land. He sighed with relief that he was in familiar territory and turned his sights towards the sky again.

"You know…I can't really believe I did that…" Hanataro stated, letting out a small laugh as he raised his once bloody hand. He glanced over at the crow, staring into its dark green eye as if hypnotized by it, "You saw it too, right; when I stood up to that guy?"

The crow flapped its wings, cawing.

"Yeah…but, I still can't believe _I_ did that…_Me_, the weakest Soul Reaper in the Gotei 13…"

"_That's not true, HanataBro…_"

"A-and this voice; what _is __**it**_," he mumbled, clenching his hair in frustration, "I keep hearing this whisper in the back of my head, but I can't hear it very well…But I know what it wants me to do…"

"_Because you know you want to, right?_"

"…I don't want to do what it wants me to…I…I…"

"Hanataro, what's wrong?"

Hanataro paused for a moment before glancing up at May, holding the dumplings he'd asked her for. He shook his head and reached for a dumpling, but May quickly pulled them out of his reach with a frown on her face. "You didn't answer my question, Hanataro," she grumbled, taking a seat next to the boy, "What's wrong?"

"I was just thinking about what happened earlier…" Hanataro replied, finally being allowed to grab a dumpling.

"You mean when you had to deal with that jerk," she asked, receiving a nod from the boy, "Well, if you're trying to say you feel bad for what you did _don't_, that guy deserved it! And it was pretty ho-I mean, impressive how you dealt with him. I never knew you could move that fast."

"Thank you," Hanataro blushed, shifting his eyes to the dark blue sky, "But, it was like I wasn't doing anything, you know? It was like someone else was talking and I was just the means for them to do so. I was just watching, alongside everyone else there, what they were doing."

"Speaking of 'everyone else there'," May frowned, taking a bite of her dumpling, "Why was everyone just standing around, watching that jerk do what he did to that girl...That really pisses me off…"

"They would have stepped in if he crossed the line…But, that rarely happens and in fact the other squads are usually _just_ jerks to us…At least to _most_ of us…" he sighed.

"Hanataro..." May whispered as she scooted closer to the sad boy. She raised her and to his face and brushed back his bangs, an action that made him blush, so she could see his eyes better.

He turned away to hide his reddened face from her and began to stammer, "May, do you…do you think that I'm…weak?"

"No, I think you're one of the strongest people I know," May smiled, gently resting her head on his shoulder.

"Strength-wise, physically, am I strong or weak?"

"Hanataro," May sighed, shifting her head slightly and closing her eyes, "You may not be able to bench 250 or anything, but you don't need to be! What makes you strong isn't your brawn, it's your heart and your Kido!"

"So, that's a 'no', right," Hanataro sadly joked.

"Oh, why do you want my opinion anyways?"

"I just trust you, that's all," Hanataro replied, surprising the girl, "I always trust my friends."

"H-Hanataro, that's so sweet…Thank you," May blushed before looking away. She felt her stomach tighten with guilt as the crow cawed, inadvertently helping to remind her of the fact that her very existence was one big lie to the boy, "But, maybe I can tell him…When the time's right…"

"Anyways, I should get going," Hanataro said, getting to his feet.

"Wha-why? We haven't finished eating the dumplings," May stammered, showing the half empty basket she brought as proof, "Stay for just a little while longer, okay?"

"Thank you, May, but…I have a lot of thinking to do…It was nice seeing you again…" Hanataro replied, waving the girl goodbye before leaving.

"You too, Hanataro…"

_**-An hour or so later, in a forest located within the Rukon district-**_

"_This brings memories…doesn't iiiiittt?_"

"Yes," Hanataro replied as he placed his hand against a nearby tree, tracing with his index finger the 'Yamada' kanji it held, "Dad used to take me here for some one-on-one training …Then he'd take me to Zenith Hill, just up ahead, and we'd stare out at the Seireitei and Rukon District…Until he…"

"_I know, I share all your memories, remembeeerrr…_"

"Yeah…" Hanataro sighed, unsheathing his zanpakuto.

"_Why do you wish to start training all of a sudden, Hanataroooo?_"

"What happened earlier today, I lost my mind, I-I was using someone else's authority-not mine…" Hanataro replied, his grip on Hisagomaru becoming shaky, "I want to get stronger so something like that never happens again…So _I_ can do those things by my _own_ will, not by some voice in the back of my head…"

"_I understand…_" Hisagomaru replied, sounding somewhat happy, "_I'm glad we'll be able to spend some time together, growing stronger as a team, riiiight?"_

"Yeah," Hanataro smiled.

"_That hurts, HanataBroooo…But I guess it doesn't matter, since the power I have to offer is too good for you to pass up…You'll come around, eventually…"_

_**Report #1 of Hanataro Yamada**_**: **

_Lord Aizen, my trip to the Soul Society to observe Hanataro revealed something interesting. While he retained his timid and quiet nature during most of my observation, one instance caused his personality to change rather dramatically. He became deathly serious, his voice calm like a breeze yet powerful like a thunderstorm, his eyes narrowing on the man who had offended him like a hawk bearing down on hi-_

"_Oh get on with it, April…Or should I say, __**May **__**Cifer**__?_"

_Hush, Ulquiorra! Now, where was-oh, right! Anyways, Hanataro became deathly serious and his eyes flashed a brief golden-yellow color. Then he grabbed the man's arm when he tried to hit me. He moved so fast that I could hardly see him do it. When his friends, a small girl named 'Yachiru' and a young man named 'Perry', showed up he reverted back to his usual nature. For the rest of my observation he was rather quiet and distracted. That's all I have to report for now._

"_Interesting…His reaction to my experiment is different than that of those Arrancar wannabes Shinji's leading…" Aizen smirked, giving April and Ulquiorra a dismissive wave, "Thank you for the information, April, you and Ulquiorra are dismissed now."_

"_Yes, my Lord."_


	7. This Path I'll Walk

_**Lethal Hornet, Timid Healer**_

**Disclaimer:**

**I don't own the rights to anything related to the anime **_**Bleach**_

**The rights to that anime belong to…other people…**

_**

* * *

**_

_**Chapter 7: The Path I'll walk**_

_**(April 3rd, Day 2)**_

Soifon had woken up early today, as in earlier than she expected to. "Kurosaki…" she frowned, pacing around her room in her dark blue gown, "Big mouthed…grrr…Why is this bothering me so much?"

Soifon let out an exasperated sigh as she plopped down on her bed, staring at the ceiling. She wondered why she couldn't block out what Yoruichi had told her and asked. A scoff escaped Soifon as she remembered Yoruichi's question about 'intimate healing' between her and Hanataro.

"I've never been so thrown off-guard in my life," Soifon frowned, rolling onto her side, "Lady Yoruichi…she's always playing games with me…But…why is _this_ game so different…Why do I feel so differently about her teasing me about Taro-uh…"

Soifon paused and blushed at her nickname slip, "_Hana_taro…" A knock brought Soifon's attention to her bedroom's door, "Come in…"

A frown appeared on Soifon's face as she realized who she just let in: a woman with dark blue eyes and some resemblance to Soifon, except for her smile and overall happy look. Her hair was long and black, tied with a white cloth into a ponytail that reached five inches past the back of her neck. She wore a dark purple-bluish gown with an orange sash wrapping round her waist.

"Izumi…" Soifon frowned, lifting herself from bed, "What do _you_ want?"

"Ahhh, Shaolin, that's not very nice," the woman smiled, playfully pouting afterwards, "I just came to see how my favorite cousin was doing, that's all."

"Don't come here and _lie_ to me, Izumi," Soifon frowned, crossing her arms, "And I no longer go by _that_ name…not in over two hundred years, in case you forgot."

"Oh, I didn't forget, but you'll always be the same, meek, little 'Shaolin' I remember you as, _Captain _Soifon…_despite_ your cold and elitist attitude…" the woman bitterly replied, "You didn't even bother to greet me when I returned, that's pretty rude!"

"As if you care about my greetings," Soifon scoffed, rolling her eyes before turning her back on Izumi and staring out at the early morning sky, "…Its almost time for work…I hope you're prepared to give me a report on your mission today…"

"I was ready yesterday, and I'll be doubly so today," the woman smiled, turning to leave before pausing, "One more thing, Shao…I heard this interesting rumor about you rushing some boy to the 4th Squad HQ the other day. I didn't catch the boy's name, but some say he might be a 'secret' boyfriend of yours."

"…Leave…" Soifon replied, the tone in her voice suggesting that she was embarrassed, "My love life is none of your concern…" Soifon paused for a moment before covering her mouth as she realized what she had just said.

"Love life, huh," Izumi smiled, "Well, that must've been one _rough_ night! I hope you didn't kill the poor man!"

"Just leave," Soifon stammered, hiding her red face as her cousin left, laughing, "…Damn rumors and gossipers…"

Soifon dropped her frown and stared out at the morning sky again, smiling slightly. "…Hanataro…I wonder why I feel so embarrassed when someone mentions us being together," Soifon sighed, running her fingers through her hair as she went out onto her room's balcony, "Is it because of my pride?"

Soifon let out another small sigh as she continued to ponder the answer to her question. She shook her head after awhile, deciding that she'd be better off working than wasting time on finding the answer to her question, at least not right now.

Her captain's coat gently swayed as the morning breeze brushed against it. She liked mornings like this, when the sun was warm and the wind brought a slight chill to those it graced, as they reminded her of the times she and Yoruichi would go for a walk through the Shihouin Gardens.

She smiled slightly as she let her mind drift into these memories, frowning when a strange spiritual pressure suddenly caught her attention instead. The strange spiritual pressure soon disappeared and was replaced by a more familiar one, which startled Soifon.

She quickly Flash Stepped to energy's source only to find Hanataro sitting in a nearby park, resting against a giant tree. Her stomach began to flutter as she recalled what her cousin had told her earlier, causing her to blush. She shook her head and straightened herself out, putting on her usual countenance of authority before casually entering the park and making her way towards the young healer.

"…Someone was in my room last night," Hanataro mumbled to himself, watching as he balled and un-balled his fist several times, "And…I feel like I should _know_ who this mysterious person is…The spiritual pressure traces they leave-it's like they're _taunting_ me…"

"Who is taunting you, Hanataro?"

"Captain Soifon," Hanataro stammered, scrambling to his feet in order to bow, "Good morning, may I ask what brings you here today?"

"You," Soifon replied, causing the boy and, once she realized the implications of what she said, her to blush, "I mean, I was on my way to work and I spotted you here…But, I heard you talking to yourself about someone taunting you. Is there something you'd like me to know?"

"Oh, uh, n-no…I was just being, uh, dramatic, I guess," Hanataro nervously laughed, receiving a cocked eyebrow from Soifon, "But thank you for asking…"

"…Are you sure…If someone is bothering you…"

"No, really, there's no one bothering me…but thank you, Captain Soifon…" Hanataro nodded, receiving a slight smile from the woman.

"You're welcome…Have a nice day at work."

"Y-you too, Captain," Hanataro stammered, widening the woman's smile a bit before she left.

"…And Hanataro," Soifon began, halting her exit and looking over her shoulder at the boy, "…You don't have to bow to me, okay? I'm fine with you just saying 'Hi'…"

She left before Hanataro could reply, leaving him curious as to why she would tell him that, even though it seemed as if she would be the _most_ appreciative (out of _all_ the other Captains) to receive such an act of respect.

"_You assumed that, Hanataroooo, and assumptions can be wrong…_" Hisagomaru yawned.

"_Gotta agree with the sloth…and you __**gotta **__come up with better lines than 'you too', HanataBro…right," _the inner Hollow laughed. Hanataro shook the voices away and left the park, deciding _he_ should get to work as well.

This came as a surprise to Iemura, the first person he encountered at the 4th Squad HQ, "Yamada? It's a bit early for you, of all people, to be here, don't you think? Your shift doesn't start till 8 or so."

"Well, I just thought I'd get an early start," Hanataro replied, letting out a small laugh, "Is there anything that you need me to do right now, or should I go see Captain Unohana for a task instead?"

"Well, uhhh, tch, I don't have anything for anyone to do right now…Things have been pretty tame since last week…" Iemura sighed, taking his leave, "I guess Captain Unohana _might_ have something important for you to do, but don't get your hopes up."

"Okay, thank you…"

"Oh, and one more thing…I heard about what you did yesterday, you know, standing up to that 11th Squad mook," Iemura began, glancing over his shoulder at Hanataro, "…Good job…I never knew you had something like that in you, but try not to get carried away because next time your friends might not be there to help you out."

Hanataro gave the man a slight nod before he finally left, a slight smile subconsciously appearing on the young healer's face as his eyes briefly flashed yellow.

"_Heh, we won't __**need**__ our friends to back us up once we synch up, HanataBro…Heh, we may not even need them at all!"_

Hanataro's smile quickly disappeared, being replaced by a look of confused horror. How could he even _think_ about his friends that way?

"Good morning, Hanataro," May beamed as she snuck up behind the distracted boy, hugging him, "Is something wrong?"

"Oh, good morning, May," Hanataro blushed once the girl released him, "No, everything's fine, I was just thinking about something, that's all…"

"What were you thinking about?"

"…Just some changes I'm going through," Hanataro nervously laughed, "Anyways, I'm on my way to see if Captain Unohana has something important she wants me to do…Do you want to come with me?"

"Sure, I've got nothing else to do," May smiled, following after the young healer as he headed to Unohana's office. The 4th Squad Captain greeted them with a smile and assigned them to tend to a patient in the building's west wing, room 42. When they got there, they saw a young girl absentmindedly staring out of the windowsill she was leaning on. She had short, brown hair and freckles, and was approximately Hanataro's height and age.

"I feel fine…" the girl sighed, not bothering to look at the two medics, "I don't know why Ms. Izumi wouldn't accept that…It was just a scratch…"

May and Hanataro exchanged glances before May spoke up, "Well, we're just here to make sure that you really _are_ 'fine', Okay?"

"Fine, but can we make this quick…" the girl sighed, briefly setting her bluish-green eyes on Hanataro before plopping down on the room's bed, "I'm kinda in a hurry…"

"Of course," May nodded, approaching the girl, "Okay, so, show me where you were hurt." The girl cocked an eyebrow and briefly glanced at Hanataro before attempting to remove the upper part of her Stealth Force uniform, only to be stopped by a somewhat embarrassed May, "Wait, maybe Hanataro should leave…"

"Why, he doesn't seem like he has enough gall to look anyways," the girl smiled as she went to take off her clothing again, "Guys like him are just too nice…and scared…"

And she was right, of course, as Hanataro immediately turned away out if sheer embarrassment.

"_If you don't wanna look, why __**don't**__ you just leeeeaveeee…_" Hisagomaru asked. Hanataro agreed with this and began to walk backwards to the room's door, in an attempt to not inadvertently peep at the girl and he was more likely to injury himself (and look stupid feeling for the door) if he closed his eyes. With his being rather clumsy and unlucky in general, Hanataro tripped over himself and fell hard on his back, his eyes closed in pain.

When they opened the first thing they set themselves on was the golden locket hanging on a jade chain hanging off the girl's neck. "_What is that…_" the inner Hollow panicked as Hanataro continued to stare intently at the locket, specifically at its familiar red crest, "_It looks so familiar…ugh…my head hurts…_"

"H-Hanataro, how could you," May pouted, breaking the boy out of his trance.

"I am, I mean, I, uh, I'm so sorry," he stammered, blushing before leaving the room.

"…Hanataro…" the girl mused, tapping her temple with her index finger as if she were trying to remember something, "…Oh God…"

May looked at the girl, her eyes wide and mouth slightly open as if she had just discovered a shocking secret, "Is there something wrong?"

"…He's kinda cute," the girl stated in an uninterested tone, throwing May off-guard, "Can I go now, or do you need to heal me or something?"

"Uhh, yeah, I mean, no, I mean…Yes, you're free to leave…" May replied, though the girl was already out the door before she finished, "Huh, what's her deal…?"

Hanataro let out a small yelp as the girl unexpectedly grabbed him by the collar of his uniform before slamming him against a nearby wall, holding him there as she glared at him. "You _jerk_! I remember _you_," she growled, smiling as May quickly came into the hall.

"Let him go!"

"Grrr, you jerk, say some-_stop_ stammering," the girl growled, shaking Hanataro, "Don't you even _remember_ who I am?"

"Uh, ah, I'm sorry, I-ah! Y-you're making me kinda dizzy, wait, let go of me-ah," Hanataro squealed as the girl grabbed his hand and flipped him over her shoulder, sending him crashing to the tiled floor on his back, "O…owww…why'd you doooo that…"

"…You don't even remember _that_, geez, Hanataro, what's been going on in your head," the girl sadly sighed, kneeling over the downed healer. She paused for a moment before snapping her finger, as a brilliant idea entered her mind, and cleared her throat, "Dat's my supaw secwet gweeting, Han-Ta boy!"

May and Hanataro gave the girl confused looks, with the latter being the first to say anything in response. "Y-yeah, well, your "Kitty Haul Special" nearly put me in the hospital the first time…" Hanataro paused and examined his words, a smile forming on the girl's face, "…Kitao…?"

"The one and only," the girl smiled, pulling Hanataro off the ground, "God, I haven't seen you since the academy, Hanataro! I almost didn't recognize you!"

"Heh, I didn't recognize you either, considering how you've cut your 'Kitty Mane' so short now," Hanataro laughed, "What made you finally decide to do it, Kitty?"

"I dunno, I guess I just outgrew it," Kitty replied, smiling slightly, "But, I see _you've_ still got the same old boring haircut…Though, puberty seems to be working in your favor. You've grown cuter since I last saw you!"

"Tha-thanks," Hanataro blushed, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment.

"…So, you two _know_ each other, right," May asked for her own clarification.

"Yep, ever since we were knee-high," Kitty smiled, leaning on Hanataro with her elbow, "He was always getting in trouble he couldn't get himself out of, so guess _who_ had to bail him out?"

"…Captain Unohana?"

"That's ri-what? No, it was me," Kitty exclaimed, frowning at May's smirk, "Han-Ta, who is she, your girlfriend or something?"

"Ah-no, no I'm _not_ Hanataro's girlfriend! I'm 'May', his _friend_ who happens to be a _girl_," May quickly replied, blushing.

"What a shame…or not since, I guess, that means you're still available, Hanataro," Kitty smiled, something May immediately frowned at, "Maybe we could catch up on old times…okay?"

"Oh, would you look at the _time_," May blurted out, glancing down at the nonexistent watch on her wrist, "Well, me _and_ Hanataro should get back to work, now! It was nice meeting one of his old friends."

"Oh, well, it was nice meeting one of his new ones," Kitty smiled, shrugging her shoulders before taking her leave, "I guess I should head back to work too…Wait, Hanataro, I heard there was some guy Captain Soifon rushed to the hospital the other day…"

"Yeah, she did…What did you want to know about it," Hanataro nervously asked, receiving a frown from the girl.

"I heard that guy was _you_," Kitty stated, poking Hanataro with her index finger accusingly, "How come you didn't tell me? Were you hurt or something?"

"I didn't assume it mattered and, no, I wasn't hurt, so don't worry."

"Well, it _does_ matter and I'm glad you're fine…" the girl sighed, "Anyways, I should _really_ be going now. I'll see you later, Hanataro."

_**-2**__**nd**__** Squad HQ, Captain Soifon's office-**_

Soifon was absentmindedly twirling a pencil in her left hand, waiting in boredom for her cousin to appear. Her mind soon drifted to thoughts of Hanataro, a slight blush appearing on her face. "What can I do…" she mumbled, getting out of her seat and pacing around her room, her hands interlocked at the small of her back, "…I'm new to this, um, would I call it 'dating'? Ugh, whatever this relationship I have with Hanataro_ is_, I'm new to it…I wish I knew how to, um, express(?) my feelings to Hanataro properly instead of treating him as if he were just another soldier of the Gotei 13 to me…"

She paused for a moment, glancing out of her window as if some sort of answer would fly in and smack her across the forehead. A small yelp escaped Soifon as her office door suddenly flew open, revealing her cousin and Kitty, "Good morning, _Captain_ Soifon!"

"Next time, knock," Soifon barked at Izumi, receiving a smirk from the woman, "I don't see what you find so funny."

"Did I surprise you, Soifon," Izumi laughed as the Captain took a seat, "I guess you must be slipping, huh?"

"I assume you have a report for me," Soifon impatiently asked, receiving a nod and eyes rolling from Izumi, "Then speak."

"Alright…the mission was a success and the artifact was recovered, but we encountered a strange Hollow that was dark red with giant claws, a long tail, and a mask that had three horns," Izumi began, receiving a raised eyebrow from Soifon as a sign to continue speaking, "It seemed to be following us for some reason, perhaps it was attracted to the artifact? Anyways, whenever my squad attempted to engage the Hollow it would disappear through this strange looking portal. Then, when we finally retrieved the artifact, it suddenly attacked Kitty before disappearing shortly afterwards."

"Hmmm, I assume you've already gone to the 4th Squad HQ and been patched up," Soifon asked Kitty, receiving a nod from the girl, "…Is there anything else you could tell me about this 'strange' Hollow and why it concerns you so much?"

"Uh, well, no, except that I felt a foreign Soul Reaper presence nearby whenever the Hollow appeared…At first I believed it might be one of the three traitor Captains, but upon closer inspection I found out it wasn't. Perhaps this person was controlling the Hollow and is one of those 'Arrancar' Aizen has wrapped around his finger? And, as for why I'm concerned about the Hollow, I merely worry that it would be compelled to seek the artifact out and attack whoever holds it."

"…The General can handle a measly Hollow and the likelihood of it being able to get that close _at all_ is very slim, so don't worry…Though I'm curious about this supposed 'Arrancar' you mentioned, did you happen to catch a glimpse of their face or any other identifying features?"

"Only that they appeared to be male…" Izumi shrugged.

"…Hmm…you're both dismissed…"

Soifon watched as Izumi and Kitty nodded and bowed respectively before leaving her office. She sat there for a bit, wondering about this strange Hollow her cousin spoke of. If it _was_ being controlled by one of Aizen's Arrancar lackeys and _was_ attracted to the artifact the General wanted found, what could be the object's true significance? The General didn't tell her much about it, except for the 'fact' that it was "very important."

"It doesn't matter, the mission is complete and whatever the General plans to do with the artifact is none of my concern…" Soifon thought, sighing as she looked at the completed documents on her desk, "I've nothing important to do at the moment, save wait for more work…Or…"

Soifon dug through her pockets and pulled out Black Cat, "I could pass the time reading this…" She flipped through the book, landing at the beginning of its second chapter: _**Mutts**_.

It starts out with Kimi wandering her home out of boredom. She stops briefly at a window, staring out at the bright and sunny day, before continuing and wishing it was raining. Perhaps _that_ would prevent her owner's boyfriend from coming in that day, but, of course, nature is a flip-floppy mistress.

She sighed with contempt as she spied her owner welcoming her boyfriend into the mansion. As she took her leave, Kimi overheard her owner exclaim how 'cute' her boyfriend's dog was. A curiosity filled the cat as she wondered what the dog may look like, but she brushed it away.

"I'm not out to get myself killed," she frowned, continuing her wandering. Later, she happened to come across a dark grayish-blue cat, wearing a red collar, named Suzu. The cat was talking to someone Kimi couldn't see, but whatever conversation she was having wasn't friendly.

"What exactly do you think you're doing in _my_ territory, _mutt_," Suzu hissed, ominously approaching whoever offended her.

"I-I was just looking around, that's all," the familiar sounding 'mutt' answered, "I didn't mean to upset you or anything…"

"Arrogant mutt, you think you're presence has such an effect on me," Suzu hissed moving closer to her prey.

"What are you doing," Kimi nonchalantly asked as she approached Suzu, spotting the dog she had seen yesterday, "…Leave him alone…"

"Why should I? He shouldn't have been wandering around in _my_ territory and what gives _you_ the right to tell me what to do, Kimi," Suzu hissed, halting her approach of the dog. She smirked arrogantly as she flexed her claws, taking up a stance that suggested she was about to pounce Kimi, "You should know your place, little girl. Unlike the others I have no qualms about crushing you…"

Kimi 'convinced' Suzu to leave shortly after that. A smirk was on her face as the aforementioned cat glared at her with her paw clutching the blood drawing scratch Kimi had given her. Kimi ignored the choice words she spouted before disappearing and turned her attention to the white dog.

"…Now, _what_ are you doing here," Kimi 'asked' the dog, who cowered under her gaze.

"I was here with my-my master and I was just looking around, that's all…" he replied, shaking.

"Grrrr…what's your name, mutt…"

"…Balto…"

"_LIAR_," Kimi growled, causing the dog to yelp, "I want the _truth_…"

"…Snowy…" the dog whimpered.

Kimi paused for a moment, her rage replaced with quiet surprise. The dog's eyes were focused on the floor, his embarrassment more than apparent to even the most unobservant of eyes. After a few good twenty seconds of silence passed, Kimi snorted and began to suppress a laugh before she exploded, clutching her stomach as she rolled around the tiled floor.

"Snowy! 'Snowy,' he says! Hahaha, dogs these days," she panted as her laughter and rolling winded down before she regained a more composed stature, "…That's a pathetic name for a mutt…"

"It's not pathetic! It's meaningful because it shows just how cold hearted I can be, like a killer!"

"I hear that the snow actually protects acorns and the like during the winter, keeping them warmed for the spring like a blanket," Kimi replied, ominously approaching Snowy, "So, despite your 'surface meaning', it just snows that deep down you're just a fuzzy warm chill. Hmm, _snows_…I made a funny."

"I…"

"You…"

"Please don't hurt me…"

"How curious you are…" Kimi mused, examining Snowy. It wasn't so much the dog himself that interested her as what he was _supposed_ to be. He wasn't brave our bold like dogs are made out to be, sure he might be loyal to his master or playful around his fellow mutts, but his cowardice around cats was unheard of.

She spent the rest of Snowy's visit quietly examining him, comparing his qualities to 'true' mutt qualities. He was a bit uncomfortable about this, but was mostly glad that he'd made an acquaintance. She had questions she wanted to ask him, but she procrastinated until it was too late.

"Snowy, time to gooooo!"

"W-well, it was nice meeting you…"

"Kimi…"

"Kimi…maybe I'll be able to come again, if that's okay with you?"

"Do whatever you please," Kimi sighed, "Just try to stay in the living room until you see me the next time you come, otherwise Suzu would gladly torment you for as long as it would amuse her…And I _assure_ you that would be a long time…"

"O-okay, thanks for the info, K-Kimi…Um, I'll see you later…" Snowy nodded before leaving.

Kimi watched with some dissatisfaction as the dog left. Her current questions would go unanswered, at least it _seemed _that way. Perhaps one of her fellow cats knows a good amount about 'mutts', enough that they could provide her with relevant information.

_**-Late in the afternoon, training grounds located near the 13**__**th**__** Squad HQ-**_

Yoruichi smiled as she watched Orihime and Rukia train, mentally noting improvements in both of them. Her smile widened as she felt a familiar presence creep up behind her, "What are you doing sneaking around, Soifon?"

"How…"

"I taught you just about everything you know, but not everything _I_ know," Yoruichi replied, laughing as her former subordinate exited the shadows she hid in, "You can't sneak up on me that easily…Hmmm..what's with that face?"

"What do you mean," Soifon asked, taking a seat next to Yoruichi as she pointed at her.

"You look sad about something-wait, no, more like curious and unsure," Yoruichi replied, placing a thoughtful hand on her chin, "Is there something you'd like to ask me?"

"Well, maybe…" Soifon reluctantly answered, blushing slightly, "I wanted to know something about…um…dating…"

Yoruichi gave her a surprised look before grinning, "Orihime, Rukia, can you come here for a moment?"

"What are you doing," Soifon blushed, panicking before attempting to leave. Yoruichi, however, kept her seated, "Lady Yoruichi! S-stop, let go of me! I-ah-haha-st-stop!"

"What's wrong, Yoru-oh, Captain Soifon," Rukia said, surprised at seeing the 2nd Squad Captain giggling and restrained by Yoruichi, "What brings you here?"

"Soifon wants a little advice on 'dating'," Yoruichi grinned, causing Soifon to blush harder and Rukia and Orihime to smile.

"Ichigo told us you and Hanataro were hanging out with each other, but 'dating'! Congratulations, Captain Soifon," Rukia smiled, taking a seat on the grass.

"Kurosaki is mistaken; Hanataro and I are merely, um, acquaintances…at the moment," Soifon mumbled, now free of Yoruichi's grasp.

"Oh, and speaking of Hanataro…I heard he was…"

"He's fine now, but the Arrancar who attacked him got away," Soifon interrupted Rukia, frowning at the thought of April and Apache, "Anyways…I need, um…"

"Help," Orihime chimed in, receiving a nod from Soifon, "Hmmm, what _exactly_ would you like help with?"

"Well, um, can either of you tell me something about Hanataro…" Soifon blushed, "Since you two are part of his circle of friends, I assume you would know a bit more about him than me."

"Okay, that's simple, well…Hanataro's a bit shy when it comes to girls, but he's really nice when you get him talking and a great listener," Rukia smiled, sighing as she remembered her days trapped in a cell with Hanataro as her keeper, "He used to listen to me go on and on about my stories of the human world…Anyways, you just start out with simple conversations and get to know him that way. Ask him what he likes and things like that."

"That's all? Hmmm…what do _you_ have to say…um…Orihime?"

"Well, I don't know Hanataro as well as Rukia, but I heard that you're usually supposed to spend a lot of time with someone you like," Orihime replied, nervously laughing, "That's all I've got…"

"…But, as a Captain I won't be able to spend a lot of time with Hanataro, considering the difference between our schedules…He'll be off his shift, I guess this based on the schedules of my Seventh Seat, hours before I am…"

"Don't worry, Soifon," Yoruichi grinned, patting the woman on her back, "I'm sure your boyfriend will understand that, even more so if you explain it to him."

"Yeah, I'm sure Hanataro won't mind something like that, especially if he really likes you," Rukia chimed in, causing Soifon to blush.

"Thank you…"

_**-Later that night, in a forest located within the Rukon district-**_

Hanataro growled as Hisagomaru smacked against another tree, making a small cut. "Why won't it work," he frowned, making another vain attempt to cut the tree, "Why are you so dull…"

"_I'm built to heal…and I'm not in the mood to kill, Hanatarooo…_" Hisagomaru yawned, "_Perhaps you'd be better off practicing what little Kido spells you can easily perfoooormmm…_"

"_Sloth's got a point, Bro…_" the inner Hollow smirked, hopping to his feet and taking a fighting stance as he scanned through Hanataro's memories, "_…Ahhh…what about that trick you were about to nail those 11th Squad punks with? The electricity one…_"

"Byakurai? Uh, I…okay, I'll try…" Hanataro sighed, stabbing the ground with Hisagomaru. He paused for a moment as memories of the academy came back to him before spreading his feet shoulders' width apart and pointing his index finger at the tree. He used his other hand to steady his arm as a crackle of electricity squirmed along his finger.

"Hado 4: Byakurai," Hanataro reluctantly shouted, firing a bolt of extremely pale blue electricity at the tree. A small hole appeared in the tree, though the spell was only able to burn halfway through it.

"_Awww, c'mon, HanataBro, you can do better than that…_" Hanataro's inner hollow frowned, searching through more of Hanataro's memories. He paused for a moment when he came upon a memory of Hanataro's father, whispering something as he pointed towards the sky, "_What's this…what's your dad doing?"_

Hanataro felt his head throb in pain, causing him to drop to his knees and clutch it. His sight became blurry and a bright flash of light forced him to shut them. The light faded moments after and when he opened his eyes Hanataro found himself in a lush green field.

He looked up to find a man standing in front of him with his back turned as he whispered, "The road I walk is paved in gold, to glorify my platinum soul; within my grasp is a power untold, as parts divided become whole. They turn to the sky and become slaves to its power, consuming it minute by minute, hour upon hour. Their greed leads them down a dark path, leaving them fair game to the sky's unrelenting wrath. The spark at my fingertip is a blessing from that wrathful, storm ridden sky! Hado 4: _Byakurai_!"

Soifon was quietly staring at the moonlit sky, contemplating how she would go about using the advice Yoruichi, Rukia, and Orihime had given her. Her thoughts were interrupted when she saw a small flash of light coming from a nearby forest. With her curiosity piqued, Soifon left the comfort of her room and flash stepped through the cold night air until another, more powerful and brighter, flash of light appeared.

"Somebody's practicing their Kido…" Soifon frowned, her eyes widening and her pace quickening when she realized who this 'somebody' was. She was, to say the least, shocked to find Hanataro on the ground, clutching his arm in pain as a few crackles of electricity crawled up and down it.

"Hanataro," Soifon called out to the boy as she rushed to his side. He let out a small groan as the crackles stopped, opening his eyes and giving the Captain a tired smile. She gave him a slight smile and helped him to his feet, "Are you alright?"

He gave her a slight nod. Soifon had seen this happen from time to time. Occasionally, someone with limited knowledge about controlling Kido would cast a spell and use too much of their energy, usually injuring their casting arm temporarily or just leaving them exhausted.

"Captain Soifon…can you get…Hisagomaru for me…" Hanataro tiredly asked, leaning against the woman so closely that it caused her to blush. She nodded and placed him gently against a nearby tree before pulling the sword out of the ground and sheathing it.

When she turned her attention back to Hanataro she found him sound asleep, snoring softly as his head rested against the tree's dark gray bark. She smiled at this, finding the sight to be rather adorable and began to debate on what she should do next.

"I should take him to his home…but I don't know exactly where he lives…" Soifon sighed, as she didn't want to go around asking where the boy lives while she's cradling him in her arms. It might look, well, 'suspicious' for lack of a better word. "I could take him to the hospital, but there's nothing wrong with him…He's just tired, so I'll just take him…home…"

Soifon turned her sights to the direction she came in, immediately wiping away the subconscious smile that had crept across her face, "When he wakes up, I'll just escort him home…or something…"

_**Report #2 of Hanataro Yamada**_**:**

_Lord Aizen, nothing important occurred today. Hanataro was still rather quiet and reserved, as he was yesterday, but that's about it…_

"_You seem troubled by something, April. Speak your mind."_

_Well, Hanataro told me he was going to start training, for some reason._

"_Hmmm…I wonder if it has something to do with the experiment…April, I would like you to observe these training sessions he has, is that understood?"_

_Yes, my Lord._

"_Then you are dismissed."_


	8. Just let things go their Course

_**Lethal Hornet, Timid Healer**_

**Disclaimer:**

**I don't own the rights to anything related to the anime **_**Bleach**_

**The rights to that anime belong to…other people…**

_**

* * *

**_

_**Chapter 8: Just let things go their Course**_

"_You…okay, HanataBro?_"

Hanataro let out a small groan, his head throbbing slightly as he awoke from his unexpected nap. He slowly opened his eyes, his vision taking a bit to un-blur itself, and gazed up at the ceiling above him. He stared at it for a bit, blinking a few times, before _finally_ realizing that those _boards_ should be _stars_!

The boy began to panic, sitting up quickly and frantically scanning the room he was in. It was not his own, he could tell that much, but how he got here was still a mystery to him.

"…Oh no, I must've been sleepwalking!"

"_You've never sleepwalked, Hanataroooo_…"

"H-how do you know? I…wait, where are you," Hanataro panicked, squinting his eyes as he tried to spot Hisagomaru in the moonlight lit room. He calmed down when he spotted his zanpakuto's outline on the nightstand next to the bed he was lying in, "There you are…that's a relief…But, how'd I end up here if I wasn't sleepwalking?"

"_Beats me, HanataBro, maybe some creepy girl drugged you and dragged you here, to her lair!_ _Or maybe…it's a __**guy**_!"

"_He's just teasing, Hanatarooo_," Hisagomaru assured the boy, though it did no good. Hanataro shook his head and covered his ears, hoping that the voice would just fade away with a good night's rest.

"I-It doesn't matter how I got here, I have to leave before anyone barges in looking for me or finds me _trespassing_," Hanataro nodded to himself, reaching for Hisagomaru. He let out a small, muffled with his hands, yelp when he heard the rattling of a doorknob. He stared at the door it was attached to, light squeezing in through the tiny space between it and the floor, and watched anxiously as it opened.

"…_Looks like you're screwed, Bro…_"

Hanataro agreed with the voice, seeing as the person who had opened the door was none other than _Captain Soifon_. He wondered what kind of funeral he'd get; maybe he'd get a small one and be buried next to the obelisk his father had placed?

Or maybe Soifon would just stuff him in an unmarked grave while he was still alive.

The light she brought in, however, caused Hanataro to realize just how much _more _trouble he was actually in as it illuminatedthe few cat posters on _**her**_ _bedroom's _wall (which were, admittedly, adorable).

He probably won't even get an _unmarked_ grave now; she'll probably just use his empty husk of a body as a scarecrow.

His nose twitched as it picked up the scent of dumplings and tea, both being on a plate Soifon was carrying. "Now I'm going to die hungry," Hanataro joked, rubbing his stomach and cringing slightly as he pictured Soifon running him through should he even _dare_ ask for a last meal.

It didn't take long for her to spot him, his eyes timidly staring at her as he pulled the covers over his nose.

"Oh, you're awake? Good."

Hanataro was, to say the least, shocked by this. He waited for at least 30 seconds, watching Soifon set down the food and tea on a mat she had brought in, waiting for the woman to finish her sentence with "_Now I can see the __**fear**__ in your eyes as I run you through, you perverted weakling!_"

He trembled under the sheets as thoughts of pain and suffering swirled in his mind. "Maybe I can outrun her…" he wondered, shaking the thought away once he remembered exactly _who_ he was thinking about outrunning. A few seconds passed with Soifon now preoccupied with tidying up her room a bit while Hanataro nervously watched, swallowing the lump in his throat, "Uh, C-C-C-Captain S-Soifon?"

"Hmmmm?"

She turned to look at Hanataro with oddly cheerful eyes and waited for him to ask whatever he wanted to ask.

"P-pl-ple-please…" he stammered, body shaking as Soifon cocked an eyebrow, "Please don't kill me!"

Soifon was impressed by how fast Hanataro had gotten out of bed and to her feet, begging for his life. "Hanataro," she began, causing the boy to go silent, "I have no intention of killing you." That only made him shrink back, prompting Soifon to wonder if he thought she had something worse in store for him. She smiled slightly and walked over to her balcony door, opening it to allow more of the moon's light in.

"Come sit with me, I imagine you must be hungry after all your training," Soifon gently commanded the young healer, raising the teapot to fill the cups she had brought in.

"Y-you knew I was training out in the forest," Hanataro asked as he sat where Soifon wanted him to, though he already knew the answer.

"No."

Or maybe he didn't.

"I only figured out you were there after I followed the energy you released casting Byakurai," Soifon replied, taking a sip of her tea, "You were exhausted, barely conscious, and I did not want to leave you out there by yourself so I brought you here."

"O-oh, thank you, Captain Soifon," Hanataro bowed, taking a sip of his tea, "I'm sorry for burdening you…"

"Don't be, you're not a burden, Hanataro," Soifon replied, frowning slightly, "…Is there something wrong?"

Hanataro, his eyes wide and staring out at the pale moon, didn't respond. Soifon tilted her head to the side, curious and a bit worried, "Hanataro!"

He blinked several times, his ears perking up, before slowly setting his eyes on Soifon. They were, to Soifon's surprise, yellow and dimly glowing as he stared blankly at her. She stared back at him before tossing tea in his face, receiving a pained yelp from the boy as the relatively hot liquid hit his face.

"O-ow, wh-what was that," he whined, wiping his face as he looked around, spotting Soifon looking at him.

"You were, I believe the term is, 'spacing out' so I threw tea at you to 'space' you in," Soifon answered, pouring herself some more tea, "Are you hungry? I made these in case you were."

"Oh, uh, yes-but, I should probably go…I-I don't want to impose-"

"Hanataro…" Soifon interrupted, her eyes softening, "Please stay for the night…I would feel better knowing you were somewhere I could keep an eye on you, especially after what happened in the Human World."

Hanataro was taken aback by Soifon's genuine concern, so much so that he could only give her a slight nod. He didn't really mind being here with Soifon, but he was a bit curious as to why she'd want to even be around him. He wasn't outwardly remarkable, having been told by Kon and a few others that he was a bit 'plain', and he wasn't a great fighter, which he thought would be the type of guy Soifon would be more interested in.

Hanataro absentmindedly reached for a dumpling, his mind still preoccupied with what Soifon saw in him. He's submissive, that's for sure; he never talks back to her and always does what she tells him to do. Maybe she likes that in a guy, someone she can dominate?

"Hanataro…my hand is not for eating…"

Hanataro paused, his eyes moving to stare at his raised hand. In it was Soifon's.

"Hmm, you're very absentminded at the moment, aren't you," Soifon asked, ignoring Hanataro's many apologies, "Perhaps you should rest for tonight?"

"Oh! Yes, that sounds good," Hanataro nodded.

Soifon nodded back, getting to her feet and motioning for Hanataro to follow her as she headed out into the hallways. "This is a room that a high ranking guest would stay in, were one to come visit; you may sleep here tonight, if you wish," Soifon said, opening the door in front of her, "My room is only three doors down so come and get me if there is a problem."

"O-okay…"

"Good night, Hanataro…" Soifon nodded, turning to leave for her room.

"Good night, Captain Soifon."

Soifon paused, glancing back at Hanataro. He gave her a look of confusion that asked her 'did I do something wrong?' She gave him an approving nod before continuing on to her room.

"_Captain_," she thought, frowning slightly as she turned the word over and over in her mind. She whispered it, a bad taste being left in her mouth as a result, "I'll have to fix that…"

-0-

"_We need more power…what else do you have lying around in these old memories, Bro?_"

-0-

_**(April 4th, Day 3)**_

"It's no trouble," Soifon told Hanataro for the eleventh time as they walked past the 2nd Squad HQ, "The 4th Squad barracks are only a few minutes walking distance away."

"But, I-I don't want to make you late for your job," Hanataro stammered.

"I'm already late, to be honest, as I go to work an hour before your shift begins," Soifon accidently mumbled aloud.

"Y-you waited for _me_?"

"Ye…yes…I merely did not want you wandering around without my guidance, as my relatives would have probably done unpleasant things to you had I not been around to see you out," Soifon lied, though she could tell Hanataro did not buy it.

"Thank you, Captain Soifon."

"…_Captain_…" Soifon absentmindedly groaned out loud, quickly covering her mouth when she realized her mistake, "I-I mean, you are welcome, Hanataro." She glanced over at the boy, his eyes wandering from passerby to passerby. They, apparently, made him nervous, what with their whispering and staring at the supposed 'couple'. Yes, she'd heard that rumors about her and Hanataro were spreading at an increasing pace, not that she cared anymore.

Or maybe she did, but not in the way she thought she should?

She actually felt a bit sad when they finally arrived at the 4th Squad HQ.

"_Just talk with him a bit and get to know him. Ask him what he likes and things like that._"

"_I heard that you're usually supposed to spend a lot of time with someone you like._"

As much as she'd like to follow Rukia's and Orihime's advices, Soifon was far too busy to spend time with Hanataro. Then again, Yoruichi _did_ point out the possibility that Hanataro would understand the dilemma she was in.

Hanataro, glancing over his shoulder, noticed Soifon was still there. She was staring at the ground, a slight frown on her face as she continued to contemplate what she should do next. "…Captain Soifon," he softly began, turning around, "Is something wrong?"

"…I'll make time…" Soifon grumbled, her eyes setting themselves on Hanataro before she casually approached the mildly confused healer. "Hanataro…" she slowly began, her eyes shifting from him to the ground and back again, "…I…um…"

"Yes?"

"After your shift is over, or sometime after it is over, I would appreciate it if you would come see me either at the 2nd Squad barracks or my home…In fact, please come to the 2nd Squad barracks at around 6:30pm. If you can't, that's fine, but…"

"I'll come, don't worry," Hanataro nodded, smiling slightly.

"Oh, g-good, I'll see you later then…" Soifon nodded, flash-stepping away before Hanataro could say anything.

-0-

May was, to say the least, irritated at the moment, having watched Soifon and Hanataro for some time now. The way Soifon led Hanataro around, as if he were on some leash she was holding, made her sick.

"I should've killed her when I had the chance," she growled, reaching for the hilt of her zanpakuto. She paused, an idea forming in her head. Why _kill_ Soifon when she could beat the Captain at her own 'game'?

"…Hanataro belongs to me, so I'll make sure she knows that," May smiled, letting out a small giggle, "After all, all's fair in love and war, right? If she wants Hanataro she'll have to _work_ to get him!"

She hopped off the wall she'd been sitting on for awhile now, gracefully landing on the tiled ground below. "Good morning, Hanataro," she beamed, charging and tackling the unsuspecting boy with a hug.

-0-

Nothing special happened that day, no harassment from other Squads or any 'Hollow Hunting Sprees'. There was the occasional injured patient who'd fallen off their roof or fell down a flight of stairs, but nothing truly serious. Most of the time May and Hanataro spent was in the halls, sweeping them from top to bottom.

"It's nice to be out and about, don't you think, Hanataro," May asked, stretching her arms as she yawned.

"Uh-huh…work _was_ a bit boring today…"

"Even me," May asked, playfully pouting, "That's not very nice, Hanataro!"

"N-no, of course not you," Hanataro laughed, smiling, "You're always…"

Hanataro paused, his eyes darkening and narrowing as he slowly scanned his surroundings. Someone was following them, watching from afar somewhere. Or was it just his imagination, a paranoia that manifested itself from the foreign substance that squirms through his veins?

"Are you okay, Hanataro? You seem tense."

"Oh, I'm fine, I was just lost in thought," Hanataro replied, smiling slightly, "So, um, what do you want to do now?"

-0-

_**Grassy plains by the river**_

The two souls watched as a tiny leaf gently swam down the clear blue stream before them. "This is nice, don't you think," May asked Hanataro, hugging her knees to her chest as she continued to watch the tiny leaf. It bumped into another leaf, their stems hooking together as they continued down the lonely stream together.

Hanataro had not answered her question, something May found to be irritating. He was thinking about _her_, she could tell by that perplexed look in his eyes. "Why did she choose me?" she believed he was wondering, "Does she like me?"

May hugged her knees tighter, frowning as she clenched her fists. It wasn't fair, she thought, how difficult this was. Hanataro wasn't supposed to be distracted by another woman; his attention was to be focused solely on her!

"Hanataro…" May quietly began, gazing at him with her deep blue eyes. He blinked a few times before looking at her, "Are we…friends…_just_ friends?"

Hanataro's eyes widened slightly, holding the timid blue glean she'd not seen in awhile, and he blushed. "O-of course we're friends…otherwise I wouldn't be here with you," Hanataro replied, staring at the grass as his blush persisted.

"…_Just_ friends," May asked again, her voice a bit colder as she placed her hand on Hanataro's chin and gently forced him to look at her. He trembled slightly as he stared into her eyes, big and blue like an ocean that was ready to consume him should he wrong it, and his lips parted a bit as if he were about to say something.

She pulled him closer, her eyes halfway open as his closed.

"Well, look what we have here, two love birds!"

One 11th and two 12th Squad members had made their presence know, laughing as May glared at them. "What's the matter, sweetheart," one of the 12th ones grinned, sheathing the Hollow blood bathed sword he held, "Tired of the 4th Squad welp and hungrin' for some _real_ men?"

"As if," May growled, trying to contain the rage in her voice, "Let's go, Hanataro…" She quickly grabbed the boy's hand as she got up from the grass, leading him away from the bothersome Soul Reapers. She glared at the 12th Squad member who had flash-stepped in front of them, an arrogant grin on his face.

"I thought he looked familiar," the 11th Squad member laughed as he and the other 12th member crept up behind May and Hanataro, "Don't you already have a girlfriend, huh?"

"Yeah, the Captain won't like the fact that you're screwin' around with some other chick!"

Hanataro remained quiet, a sense of guilt washing over him as he clenched his fists. He felt as if he was wronging Soifon by almost kissing May, then again he felt he was wronging May too.

"_**Don't**_ touch me," May growled, slapping away the 12th Squad member's hand as he reached for her chin "_Or I'll __**break**__ your arm_…"

"Oh, she's got some bite in her," the 12th Squad member in front of her growled, rubbing his pained hand, "Maybe someone should beat some respect into you?"

Hanataro's eyes flashed yellow and he attempted to lunge at the man only to be held back by his two associates. "Don't touch her" Hanataro warned them, his voice calm and collected as his eyes held a yellow tint. They laughed at him, unfortunately for them as that was the only warning he would give them.

The 12th Squad member slapped May, only to reel back in surprise as she caught his hand and then reel back in pain as she broke his wrist…then his jaw with a well placed punched.

The others weren't so lucky…

-0-

May smiled at Hanataro as she led him to a nice and shady tree. He could hardly believe her attitude had changed so quickly, from unbridled rage to child-like bubbly-ness.

"_Maybe she was just relieving stress? She seemed pretty irritated when those guys showed up, right?_"

Hanataro nodded.

"Finally, all alone again," May smiled as she sat next to Hanataro, resting her head on the tree, "…I'm really sorry you had to see that, Hanataro…I-I don't really know what came over me…I guess I was just frustrated…"

There was truth in that. May was, of course, frustrated and she _did_ wish she didn't need to resort to such violence in front of Hanataro, but her actions were, in her mind, necessary. They helped to establish her, in the eyes of Hanataro, as someone who could help and protect him should the need arise.

This was important as she believed one of the reasons Hanataro was drawn to Soifon was her status as a Captain, meaning she'd have more than enough strength (not to mention political pull) to make sure Hanataro's enemies are kept at bay.

Subconsciously, however, she wanted to show him (or maybe 'remind' is more accurate) that she was not to be trifled with and that she is perfectly willing to use violence whenever it suits her fancy. It would suit her fine if he was afraid of her since she could use that fear to keep him wrapped around her fingers.

"That…that's horrible…I…I'm not like that, am I,"" May gasped, self-loathing washing over her as these thoughts of controlling Hanataro bounced around her head.

"Like what?"

She stared sadly at Hanataro, frowning slightly as she reached out to him. He blushed as she gently held his chin in her hand, a slight smile on her face. "Nothing," she nodded, letting his chin go, "…Do you remember when we saw those fireworks together, Hanataro?"

"How could I forget?"

May returned Hanataro's grin with one of her own.

"Thank you, Hanataroooo," May giggled as she hugged the boy, surprising him.

Those thoughts earlier were just thoughts; what she was feeling _now_ was all that mattered. Hanataro was her friend, for now, and she'd do whatever she could to make him happy and keep him safe.

A smile stretched across her face as she let him go, though a look of guilt was on his.

-0-

"_Mixed emotions, right?"_

"_Riiiight…"_

-0-

"Just try to make him feel comfortable. For example, don't keep such a stern face on all the time," Yoruichi scolded Soifon, frowning to illustrate her point.

"I don't do that," Soifon frowned, causing Yoruichi to laugh. The 2nd Squad Captain merely sighed in defeat, absentmindedly twirling the pen she held as she stared out of her window. She wondered if Hanataro would come, after all he didn't actually have to.

"Though, a Captain requesting to see you isn't exactly something most people would choose to turn down," Soifon smiled slightly, "I wonder if he'd come just because he's afraid of what I'd do if he didn't…"

Her smile disappeared.

She had always used it to keep her subordinates in-line and on their toes, but Hanataro wasn't someone she felt she needed to use fear against. He was sensitive and soft spoken, not a cocky recruit who believed he was invincible and needed to be taught otherwise or else he'd end up the victim of some knee-high Hollow. He also wasn't in her Squad so there wasn't much point in treating him like he was.

"Soifon, are you okay?"

Yoruichi was standing next to her, squinting her eyes as she looked out of the window as well, "Is there something out there?"

"No, I was just keeping an eye out for Hanataro…" Soifon replied, a little bit embarrassed, "I asked him to come by here at 6:30…"

"Oooohhhh," Yoruichi grinned, poking Soifon.

"Wh-what? What's so grin wor-st-stop poking me!"

"You're goin' on a date with Hanataro, aren't you," Yoruichi asked, her grin widening.

"N-no, I…yes…" Soifon meekly replied, though her courage quickly returned, "But, it's not a 'date'! It's a, um, meeting, I guess…"

"And what will you two be doing at this 'meeting'?"

"…Discussing things…?"

"Like what?"

"…I don't know," Soifon frowned, almost sounding worried as she continued to stare out the window, "I feel as though I'd only end up wasting his time…I-I don't know what I'd do…"

"What do you mean?"

"Ah…I just mean that I'm not sure how to further my relationship with Ta-uh-Hanataro," Soifon corrected herself with a cough, though Yoruichi caught her slip-up.

"_Soifon_, you've been doing _fine_ so far! Just _talk_ to him, what does he like to do, what's his favorite type of music?"

"It's that simple…" Soifon asked, receiving a nod from Yoruichi. She looked doubtful for a moment before turning her attention to the few papers stacked on her desk as she placed her index finger on her lips and let what Yoruichi had said roll around her mind. Her usual, stern countenance returned as she got out of her seat and approached the window.

"Of course," she frowned, "It's that _simple_…How silly of me to make such a child's act into some sort of archaic code that only the most brilliant of minds could deci…pher…?"

He was here, walking down the street. She accidentally called out to him, prompting him to gaze up at her as she stared down at him. Hanataro gave her a timid wave, receiving a nod from the Captain.

"Wait there, I'll be down in a minute or so," Soifon informed Hanataro, receiving a nod from him before she left his view. She sighed, taking a deep breath and exhaling, "O-okay…just act natu…ral?"

Yoruichi was grinning at her.

Soifon attempted to say something, a jumbled mess of words coming out instead as her face reddened a bit, before she let out a frustrated sigh and left.

-0-

"…Um…so…did you, um, have a nice day at work," Soifon asked Hanataro as she walked beside him, attempting to be as casual about the question as possible.

"It was good…a bit boring, though," Hanataro responded, some timidity in his voice.

"Good," Soifon nodded.

She felt out of place walking directly next to Hanataro, as she had been trained to take point when dealing with someone like him (as in a Stealth Force rookie).

"Don't let them take point until their _tenth_ mission, _at least_," Yoruichi lazily instructed her one day, yawning a little, "Chances are they'll A) end up dead B) end up in the hospital or C) end up blowing the mission…Take note: 'C' has a tendency to stick with 'A' or 'B'. It doesn't really like being by itself."

Soifon glanced over at Hanataro, an image of him wearing the Stealth Force uniform forming in her mind. Her eye twitched as she imagined the many ways he'd manage to blow a mission and the memory of him spilling an entire tray of food (and a _hot_ cup of tea) on her resurfaced.

"I almost forgot that," Soifon angrily smiled at an oblivious Hanataro, though she sighed as soon as she realized how childish she was being, "And I already _did_ get you back for it…"

Hanataro, sensing her stare, looked over at Soifon at just the right time to catch a _glimpse_ of her smile.

They arrived at the Fon estate a minute or so later.

Hanataro was surprised by how huge the estate was, seeing as he'd never really been to the house of a noble family before.

Or maybe he did and was just too young to remember it?

"Hello, Lady Fon," a young man greeted the woman as he opened the estate's grand front door. Hanataro examined him for a moment; based on his light gray eyes and jet black hair he guessed that the man was a relative of 'Lady Fon' instead of just some hired hand.

"Who is he" the man asked Soifon, pointing to Hanataro.

"A guest," Soifon bluntly replied.

"Hmmm, no name," the young man asked, leaning against the doorframe as his face held a lighthearted smile.

Soifon returned a smaller smile, frowning slightly as she folded her arms. "Hanataro Yamada," she finally answered, causing the young man to cock an eyebrow.

"Ahhh…I thought they were just rumors, but it _is_ true," the young man exclaimed, pointing accusingly at Soifon, "Little Soifon has gotten a boyfriend!"

"Wh-what," the 'couple' exclaimed, caught off-guard by the man's outburst.

"Mizutani, you idiot, get out of the way before I use you for Hamonka practice," Soifon growled, blushing along with Hanataro.

"I'm just joking with you, Soi," Mizutani nervously laughed, scratching the back of his head as he moved out of the 'couple's' way. He gave Hanataro a quick pat on the back as he passed by, "Enjoy your stay!"

-0-

It was a bit past 7pm when they arrived in Soifon's room and Hanataro began to feel bashful, something he couldn't help (even though he'd been here last night). The fact that he was in a _girl's_ room had finally dawned on him.

Now that he had more light to see it better, he was also amazed by how big Soifon's room was compared to his. Actually, it was _huge_ compared to his entire apartment!

"Wait, here, hopefully dinner won't take _too_ long to prepare," Soifon instructed the oblivious boy, "Hanataro?" She tapped his shoulder, receiving an absentminded nod before she decided to leave, sighing as she flipped on the lights.

It was getting dark out now, the time being around 8pm, yet Hanataro was still marveling at the sight of Soifon's room. Contrary to his expectations, meaning despite being a girl, Soifon's room wasn't that different from his own.

He especially liked the posters she had on her walls (four of cats, one of a movie titled 'Buzz' with a smiling woman on it, and another titled 'A Taste Of Silence' with a long haired woman holding a bloody knife) and the cat figurines she had on display in a case mounted on the wall in front of her bed, positioned above her relatively huge flat screen TV.

Soifon had returned by 8:27pm and found Hanataro in the same daze he was in last time. Not even the smell of the food she was bringing in could take his attention away from the figurines on her wall, something that filled her with a bit of pride.

"At least he likes cats," Soifon smiled slightly, shrugging as she set the food on a table out on her balcony. He was still dazed when she came back in, a sigh escaping her as she walked over to him.

"Let's go out onto the balcony," she suggested, gently placing her hand on Hanataro's shoulder as she directed his attention to the food filled table on the balcony, "…I prepared dinner for us."

"Wow, that was really fast! You made all of that in ten minutes," Hanataro asked as he took a seat at table.

"It took about an hour or so to make, Hanataro…" Soifon sighed, tapping the embarrassed boy on his noggin before taking a seat at the table, "Did you even notice I was gone?"

"…Yes?"

Soifon playfully frowned, causing Hanataro to smile, before she immediately 'corrected' herself, "Ahem…anyways, I hope you'll enjoy the meal I've made. My cooking skills are a bit rusty…"

Hanataro soon found out that that last statement of Soifon's was just modesty.

"Th-this is really good," he proclaimed, taking another bite of his food, "How'd you become such a great cook?"

"It's part of Stealth Force training," Soifon shrugged, blushing at Hanataro's compliment, "Some missions require long treks that may go on for hours or days. It's important to keep one's Squad well fed with healthy cooking in order to increase the chances of a successful mission, so all Stealth Force members must be _at least_ adequate cookers. Otherwise…"

Soifon dragged her thumb across her throat, causing Hanataro to nervously nod.

"I am kidding, of course. Did you really believe we would kill a skilled fighter if he didn't have any cooking skills," she asked, a small smile on her face.

"O-of course not…" Hanataro nervously laughed, though Soifon obviously didn't buy it, "But, really, everything tastes great, Captain Soifon."

"…Thank you," she hesitantly nodded, looking away from him, "Compliments often go unsaid in the Stealth Force, so I'm glad you told me that…but…"

Her voice trailed off and Hanataro straightened himself, his heart thumping in his chest as he wondered if he had done something wrong. She got up and walked over to the balcony's railing, her hands interlocked on the small of her back as she stared out into the nearby forest. After what seemed like an eternity, Soifon sighed and removed her Captain's coat before heading back inside to hang it on a rack.

"Hanataro…when we're by ourselves, off duty, I would like it if you just called me 'Soifon', okay," she said, her voice a little quieter than usual, as she returned to her seat.

"O-okay…Soifon…" Hanataro reluctantly nodded. It made him nervous, referring to Captains and Lieutenants by their names alone instead of with their titles; in fact Yachiru was the only 'titled' person he referred to by first name, as she had told him how "un-fun" Lieutenant Kusajishi sounded and insisted he call her Yachiru.

"Thank you," Soifon nodded, trying to fight back her smile. One 'wall' had been taken down, but she still had a long way to go and now she had to figure out how to go from here. Soifon tapped the table impatiently as she tried to recall the advice Yoruichi had given her earlier.

"_You've been doing great so far, Soifon, just talk with him a bit! Ask him what he likes!_"

Soifon nodded, growing determined as she drew strength from the words of her mentor, "Her words are so strong and powerful…Ha, I feel as though she's always close by, ready to lend me a helping…hand…hmm?"

She looked down at her leg, a tickly feeling gathering there as something furry brushed against her. Her eyes widened immediately as she stared at the black cat grinning up at her, giving her a few waves of its paw.

An 'Eep' would have escaped her lips had she not quickly covered her mouth.

"Are you okay, Ca-I mean, Soifon," Hanataro asked, a bit confused by the Captain's actions.

Soifon, having quickly regained her composure, shook her head. "I'm fine, I just…I was just distracted by something," she replied, briefly frowning at the cat before returning her attention to Hanataro, "Will you excuse me for a moment?"

She quickly knelt down and grabbed the cat, flash-stepping into her bathroom and quickly shutting the door behind her.

"_Huh, when you gotta go, you gotta go, right, Bro?"_

"…Right…" Hanataro nodded.

-0-

"What are you doing here," Soifon questioned Yoruichi, turning the bath water on so its noise would drown out their conversation (just in case Hanataro had enough gall to try and eavesdrop, though that would be gross).

"Meow, I'm just a regular cat," Yoruichi innocently replied, only to receive a frown from Soifon, "Meow!"

"Regular cats don't talk!"

"Nyaaahh!"

Soifon let out a frustrated sigh, causing Yoruichi to laugh, "What are you doing here, I'm trying to have a conversation with Hanataro…"

"Oh, don't be that way, Soifon," Yoruichi laughed again, hopping onto the sink, "I'm just here to make sure everything goes well on your date!"

Soifon was about to respond to that, though she stopped herself midsentence. "Oh, I don't have time for this…" she sighed, turning off the bath water and making her way towards the bathroom door, "Now, you stay in here for about an hour, or two, while I-hey!"

Yoruichi quickly made her escape as soon as Soifon opened the door. The frantic Captain couldn't catch her quick mentor and watched with shorror as the black cat jumped into Hanataro's lap.

"O-oh, haha," Hanataro chuckled as he gently stroked the meowing cat's fur, causing it to snuggle him, "I didn't know you owned a cat, Soifon…but, then again, I guess I should have expected _at least_ one…"

"I…yes, but that one's just some stray that won't leave," Soifon replied, trying to hide the nervousness in her voice, "If you want me to make it leave…"

"Oh, no, it's fine."

"Meooowww," Yoruichi groaned as Hanataro scratched behind her ears, causing Soifon to blush.

"W-well…um…I was going to say som-oh! Okay," Soifon mumbled to herself, taking a deep breath, "Hanataro, we talked a bit about my cooking earlier…I was wondering: what's your cooking like?"

"Oh, well, I think I'm a pretty average cook," Hanataro answered, staring up at the dark blue sky as he thought about what to say next, "Ummm, Captain Unohana says she really likes the sugar bread I cook. Maybe I can bake you some, I-I mean, if you want me too?"

"Sure, if it's not a problem for you," Soifon smiled slightly, dropping it when Yoruichi poked her furry head up to grin at her, "But, I wanted to ask you something else…" She leaned forward a bit, resting her elbows on the table and interlocking her hands as she looked Hanataro over.

He was attentive; his eyes were locked on her while he patiently waited for her to continue, which was something that made her a bit nervous. Here he was, the timid and clumsy medic who'd tended to her for about a month, looking her confidently in the eyes while her knees were busy knocking together.

"…Okay…Hanataro, I want to get to, um, know you better," Soifon finally managed to spit out, her eyes darting around.

"W-what do you want to know," he asked, blushing as his confidence lost out to his timidity.

"Well…hmm…How did you become the seventh seat of Squad 4?"

She'd been wondering this ever since she found out that her rather clumsy medic was a seventh seat, a piece of information she'd almost laughed at before she realized Captain Unohana wasn't kidding.

"I'm not really sure _why _I was chosen for the Seventh Seat…Captain Unohana was pretty vague about that…" Hanataro timidly shrugged, hoping he didn't irritate Soifon with his answer, "But, a few years or so after I'd been brought to work in 4th Squad, Captain Unohana called me into her office and promoted me to seventh seat."

Soifon cocked an eyebrow, obviously impressed, "What was your rank before that promotion?"

"Uh, I think it was…13th?"

She wasn't sure how things worked in the 4th Squad, but a relatively new recruit taking a single digit seat in less than fifty years is practically unheard of in the 2nd Squad.

Soifon gave him a nod, pausing when she noticed Yoruichi nodding at her. She frowned slightly and her face grew a bit red before she cleared her throat and continued with her next question, "What made you decide to join the 4th Squad?"

Hanataro stared at her for a moment, his eyes shifting to his fiddling hands.

"I…I wasn't good at swordsmanship or hand to hand fighting, so I couldn't qualify to be in other Squads. My teachers told me that my Kido control was good, but I couldn't join the Kido Corps because I wasn't actually good at _casting_ the spells…"

"You could gather the energy, but not release it properly?"

"Y-yes…but, that really didn't matter in the end," Hanataro smiled, cheering up, "I wanted to be a medic anyways! My dad was one and he made Lieutenant, s-so I always looked up to him and decided to become one myself…It's the least I could do to honor his memory…"

Yoruichi's ears perked up at this and she stared up at Hanataro, receiving another scratch behind her ears as he gave her a sad smile.

"…You're father was Seinosuke Yamada, right," Soifon gently asked after a minute or so of silence had passed between them, receiving a nod from the young healer, "I'm sorry for your loss…He was a good man and a great Lieutenant."

"Oh, did you two know each other," Hanataro asked, his melancholy being replaced with genuine curiosity.

Most memories he had of his father were blurry and incomplete so he was always interested to hear whatever stories he could about him, though his only source for most of those stories was Captain Unohana. It wasn't that she was a _bad_ source, but she had a tendency to not answer most questions Hanataro had about his father.

"_Hmmm? You must learn to speak a bit louder, Hanataro_," she would say, tilting her head to the side a bit as she looked the boy over, "_Have you gotten taller today? I swear, you'll be as tall as your father in a few more years if you keep this growing spree up._"

She'd then give him a smile and walk away, chuckling as she began talking to herself about Seinosuke.

"Yes, when Lady Yoruichi was…" Soifon paused, silently cursing herself for her little slip-up while Yoruichi smirked at her, "When she was a Captain, she and Lieutenant Yamada were good friends. He used to come by 2nd Squad HQ everyday on his way to and from work, usually just to say 'Hi' or see how things were going. I remember one time when I was sent on one of my first few missions away from the Seireitei and Captain Yoruichi assigned Lieutenant Yamada to be my medic..."

Soifon let out a small chuckle and shook her head, "You know, your father was pretty clumsy for a Lieutenant. Ha, I remember when we were walking through the forest and he tripped over a _pebble_…"

"Really," Hanataro laughed along with Soifon.

"Ahhh, but I eventually found out that he was just being goofy…" Soifon continued growing quiet and serious as she leaned forward a bit, locking eyes with Hanataro, "…Your father saved my life once…A Hollow was getting the best of me after I'd gone off scouting on my own…"

Yoruichi's ears perked up and nodded slightly, as if to show that she remembered as well. Soifon leaned back in her chair, locking her hands together as a frown formed on her face.

"There was a Hollow named 'Grand Fisher' that was plaguing the Soul Society for over a hundred years…though I heard that it's been killed recently…Anyways, long story short, while scouting by myself the Hollow lured me into a trap and overpowered me. Your father _almost_ managed to kill it before it turned tail and ran away…In fact, he could have killed it had he not believed I deserved immediate medical attention…"

"You sound like you believe he made some sort of mistake in saving you," Hanataro pointed out, Yoruichi nodding to show that she thought Soifon believed that as well.

"It's…well, it's more that I believed the _mission_ took priority over me," Soifon responded, her voice quiet as if she were embarrassed, "As a result of my mistake, Grand Fisher got away and continued to consume souls, if only at a significantly slower speed…"

"…But, everything worked out in the end, didn't it?"

"I'm…I'm not sure what you mean."

Hanataro blushed a little, "It's just that, um, I'm glad my dad chose you as a priority over the mission because, well, I think you're a really good Captain and the Soul Society needs people like you, especially when people like Aizen exist."

"…Thank you," Soifon smiled, a bit surprised that the young healer would tell her that.

Their meal lasted for about another hour, with more chatting than eating going on. Soifon felt more comfortable around the boy now, allowing herself to smile and laugh more than she'd previously done in his presence. Hanataro had grown more comfortable in her presence as well, speaking to her with more confidence and casualness.

"Were you okay," Soifon laughed, trying hard to suppress it, when Hanataro told her a story about him, Ichigo and Renji going to look for clay at the request of the pottery club.

"Yeah, but I think Renji is still carrying a few scars," Hanataro laughed, glad that he'd gotten Soifon to do so.

Yoruichi grinned as Hanataro stroked her back, glad to see everything going so well between the two Soul Reapers. Soifon was never much of a conversationalist since she didn't really see much point in talking about things like the weather or hobbies or how her day was, etc. Yoruichi guessed that was just part of who she was, or maybe a defense mechanism, though she did make attempts to get Soifon to be a little more open with people.

It never really worked since Soifon was usually afraid of offending or boring Yoruichi (though she did forget that fear from time to time), but the future Captain _did _open up a lot to Seinosuke. He saved her life, made her laugh against her will with his goofy personality, and looked after her like she was his daughter; it wasn't difficult for Yoruichi to figure out why Soifon opened up to the former 4th Squad Lieutenant so much.

They were laughing again, causing a smile to stretch across Yoruichi's fuzzy face.

-0-

"_Look after him_," Yoruichi remembered Soifon mouthing as the black cat followed Hanataro away from the estate. He had said he didn't want Soifon to waste time she could be using sleeping, or doing whatever she needed to do, just to walk him home.

"I'll be fine," he smiled, pausing when he noticed Yoruichi brushing against his legs as he turned to leave, "Oh, I think you're cat's trying to follow me."

Soifon, an idea forming in her head as Hanataro knelt down to pet the cat a few times, merely leaned against the grand front door's frame and shrugged, "She's a stray that makes a habit of hanging around my home; I really have no control over where she goes…"

Hanataro felt a bit sorry for the cat and decided to let her stay with him for the night, which gave Yoruichi an excuse to follow him.

It was a relatively quiet walk, with only a few Soul Reapers wandering about. Yoruichi felt a slight chill run up her spine as she sensed the faint spiritual pressure of a Hollow. The source, as she immediately found out, was Hanataro.

He was as still as a statue and his fists were clenched tight, as if he were extremely angry about something. Yoruichi cautiously maneuvered in front of him, letting out a small meow in hopes that she'd be able to calm him. His eyes were glowing yellow, narrowed on some Squad members (some 11th, most 8th, and the rest 13th) in the distance, something that sent another chill down Yoruichi's spine.

"_11__th__ Squad members…trying to get invited to the all girl drinking party the 8__th__ Squad girls are going to. 13__th__ Squad members, going home perhaps, one of them might be going with the 8__th__ squad girls…_" Hanataro mumbled to himself, his tone monotonous with a chilling ring to it, "_Doesn't matter…I remember them all too well, save for the giant in the middle…But that doesn't matter either…_"

His legs twitched before he started to slowly move forward, cracking his knuckles as he headed for the group of Soul Reapers. Yoruichi watched him, confused, before she realized what he probably intended to do and ran after him.

She tried to block his path, hold him back or slow him down at least, but he kept moving forward at the same, ominously slow speed. A rage had over taken him, quiet and collected as thoughts of how he'd break every one of those Soul Reapers in half crawled through his mind.

His hands twitched, small crackles of electricity crawling along his fingertips. He nodded to himself, a sadistic smile on his face as he contemplated how he'd kill his future victims. Dramatically, he reached for Hisagomaru, slowly unsheathing the blade as he took a step forward. Yoruichi wasted no time leaping at the boy and biting his hand before he even had the chance to unsheathe two inches of his sword.

He paused for a moment before looking down at Yoruichi hanging onto his hand by the skin of her teeth. "Ah," he yelped, clutching his pained hand when she finally let go.

"Hmmm, I think I broke some skin…But at least he's back to normal."

-0-

"_You okay, Bro? That thing almost got the best of me…bad stuff, right?"_

Hanataro was too busy trying to heal his wound to pay attention to the voice, something that made the Hollow sigh. He figured that Hanataro had no idea that he was about to kill those Soul Reapers, probably because whatever triggered that tranquil fury was a subconscious part of the young healer's mind unlike the Hollow, whose actions Hanataro tends to notice.

"_I gotta crush that thing before it messes things up for HanataBro and me, right?_"

The Hollow looked over at Hisagomaru, receiving a lazy yawn from the creature as he nodded in agreement, "I suppooossee…"

-0-

Hanataro smiled at the cat at his feet, her quiet meow taking his mind away from his pained hand. "I'm sorry I spaced out," he chuckled as he knelt down to pet the cat, receiving a contented purr, "Let's go…"

They continued along the path they were walking, passing by the group of Soul Reapers. The girls whispered to each other, smirking as their eyes followed Hanataro.

"Yeah, that was fun…We should do it another time, maybe while…" Hanataro overheard one of them, the girls' smirks sending a chill down his spine.

The guys, composed of mostly 11th Squad members and one guy from the 13th Squad, cracked their knuckles at Hanataro and smirked, probably believing that would scare the healer. It didn't, in fact it made him laugh a little, obviously irritating the men.

However, one of them, a buff man that was about 6 feet and 8 inches tall and the only male 8th Squad member there, merely narrowed his eyes on Hanataro and placed a hand on his chin as he scrutinized the boy's looks.

"_Weirdo, right?"_

"Right," Hanataro nodded, glad he'd gotten past the group in one piece.

It didn't take him and Yoruichi long to reach his apartment after that.

"Ha…I made it back in one piece," Hanataro sighed, happy with himself as he unlocked the door, "And it's good to be back home…Hmm?" The door was already unlocked, something that struck Hanataro as odd since he _always_ made sure he locked his door. Yoruichi could sense Hanataro's nervousness, brought on by his wondering if someone was in there.

Maybe it was the same person whose familiar presence he's felt for a few nights now?

No one was there, Yoruichi could tell that much, but she slipped in first just to be sure. Hanataro cautiously went in after her, opening the door as wide as he could in case he needed a quick escape. He scanned the dimly lit room, sensing that no one was there, and flipped on the lights.

Nothing was missing, as he later made sure, but someone or some people had broken in and messed up his home. They scattered a few articles of clothing on the floor, had looked through his DVD collection (opening a few cases and leaving them on his DVD player) among his closet and cabinets, ruined his bed (though it looked like someone had slept in it), and left food crumbs all over the place.

"Who would do all of this…" Hanataro nervously wondered, groaning as it occurred to him that it might've been some sort of prank. Yoruichi's meow drew his attention to a letter on his nightstand, something that made Hanataro more nervous. He reached for it, carefully unfolding it before reading it.

It slipped from his hand when he finished reading, his body trembling slightly as he read it over and over again in his mind. Yoruichi hopped onto the floor, reading the letter herself and felt disgusted when she did, even more so when she spotted the six lipstick marks at the bottom of the paper.

Hanataro was cleaning up by the time she was finished reading, a worried look on his face. Yoruichi, not wanting to frighten the boy by revealing her actual form, pawed his clothes into a pile and reorganized his DVDs.

"Thank you," Hanataro laughed, kneeling down to pet the cat.

"No problem, Hanataro," Yoruichi replied.

"…What did you say?"

"Meow!"

Hanataro stared at the cat, rubbing his eyes and squinting at her. She talked, he knew she said something!

"_Hanataro, animals can't talk…"_ Hisagomaru reminded the boy, letting out a small yawn.

"_The __**sloth**__ has a point, Bro…right?_"

"R-right…" Hanataro nodded, returning to cleaning up.

-0-

Hanataro and Yoruichi were asleep now. The young healer was resting at the foot of his bed, feeling uncomfortable sleeping in it after what had happened, with Yoruichi curled up next to him. She hadn't plan on staying for the night as she only came with Hanataro to make sure he didn't get beat up or worse on the way home.

But she'd feel bad leaving him by himself after his home had just been ransacked and he read that threatening letter. She was worried for the boy as someone could come by and try to hurt him if she left, something she'd never be able to forgive herself for.

A slight chill ran through the room, causing Hanataro to shiver slightly and Yoruichi to curl up tighter. She had thought to place a barrier on the door, preventing anyone without energy equal to a Captain from slipping in, but she forgot to do the same for the windows. It wasn't like she needed too, though, seeing as Hanataro's room was located on the building's fifth floor.

Despite the height and high chance of detection by patrolling Soul Reapers, someone had slipped into Hanataro's room through the window. The figure treaded softly towards Hanataro's room, their spiritual pressure 'synching' with his so as not to awaken Yoruichi prematurely.

"Adorable," the figure thought, smiling as they watched Hanataro and Yoruichi sleeping, "Thank you, Yoruichi…"

The figure knelt down and gently ran their fingers through Yoruichi's fur, receiving a drowsy purr, before turning their attention to Hanataro. The boy shifted slightly when the figure placed their hand on his face, gently grabbing his chin.

Their hand began to glow a dim red, a small yawn escaping Hanataro as the glow died and the figure stood up. Yoruichi shifted a bit, her eyes slowly opening as she felt a familiar presence. She looked up, her eyes widening as she caught a brief glimpse of the figure's grin before he disappeared into the shadows.

-0-

_**Report #3 of Hanataro Yamada**_**:**

_There is not much to report today, Lord Aizen…Hanataro was behaving normally today, though he'd often become distracted and stare off into space while his eyes glowed a dim yellow…_

"_Hmm, and what about his training session?"_

_I can't believe that __**tramp**__ Soifon, bringing Hanataro to her house so she could try and seduce him…_

"_Pardon me? Soifon brought the boy home?"_

_I mean, who does she think she is! It's not fair how she keeps pulling Hanataro away from me!_

"_You believe she has deep feelings for him?"_

_I hate this feeling, like she's beaten me and is spitting in my face, I hate __**her**__ too!_

"_April, you must calm your-"_

_You're right, Lord Aizen! I shouldn't be standing here, whining about how much I hate Soifon, I should be focusing on how to show Hanataro how I feel!_

"_I wasn't going to say that, I-"_

_You're right, my Lord! I should just let things come naturally! Hanataro and I are friends, right? Right, so I'll just let things go their course and we'll, eventually become more than that, right. Right, I'm so glad I talked to you about this, Lord Aizen! _

_I'll see you later!_

"…_You're welcome…I suppose…"_


	9. The Virus

_**Lethal Hornet, Timid Healer **_

**Disclaimer:**

**I don't own the rights to anything related to the anime **_**Bleach**_

**The rights to that anime belong to…other people…**

* * *

_**Chapter 9: The Virus**_

-**Captain Kurotsuchi's Lab**-

"This is odd."

Kurotsuchi rubbed his chin as he stared at the giant computer screen before him. On it was a 3D rendering of the blood sample Nemu had gained for him, which detailed the contents of the blood.

He waited for a few seconds before looking at the clock sitting at the lower right hand corner of the screen before him. "One more minute," he mumbled to himself as he returned stare to the rendering before turning to its basis: a vial of dark blood suspended in a small glass chamber.

It was slightly darker than it was three hours ago, which was slightly darker than it was three hours ago, which was slightly darker than it was three hours ago.

"There!"

It changed again!

The rendering was jumpy and slow as it updated itself to show the sample's new change, resulting in a jagged blob that took 17 minutes to straighten out. There was an odd organism within the blood that functioned as a virus of sorts. It would go to a blood cell and latch on, injecting its genetic code within the cell. It took three hours for a 'child' to be born from the cell and join its parent in corrupting the other cells; its sudden appearance and the change it brought confused even Kurotsuchi's advanced computer, resulting in the erratic and long renderings.

Kurotsuchi labeled it as a virus, but it took on the function of a regular blood cell. Upon isolating one of the child viruses, Kurotsuchi discovered that the child virus was much more effective in its new role than the old blood cell had been. This find caused him to label the mysterious organism as an infiltrator, and correctly guess that the host would actually benefit from this virus once it evolved past a certain stage.

Kurotsuchi tapped his desk a few times before he typed something into his computer, prompting it to bring up a rendering of the apple he'd received from Unohana. Testing it against other apples revealed that it contained a substance known to make those that consume it in high amounts gradually aggressive, as well as regular apple juice and an unknown substance.

He had been spending the past few days trying to figure out what the substance was and what it did, but only managed to discover that it caused blood to darken and contained infiltrators. He had figured out what the infiltrators did, but the substance itself remained a mystery.

"…The only reason blood would darken is if…it is deoxygenating!"

He snapped his fingers as a smile crept across his face, "The boy is dying! At least that is my theory…It makes sense, but I'll need Unohana to draw some more samples from the boy to be sure…Nemu!"

-**1**-

About twenty minutes passed before Nemu returned, which was signified by the gentle sliding of the iron door leading into Captain Kurotsuchi's personal laboratory.

"That was quick; I did not expect Unohana to work…so…"

As he spun around in his chair to look at Nemu, Kurotsuchi noticed the woman standing next to his daughter. Captain Unohana was smiling sweetly at him as he shrunk back in his chair, "I hope I am not interrupting anything, Captain Kurotsuchi."

"No, I was just waiting for the samples," Kurotsuchi hesitantly spoke before quickly spinning around so that he faced his computer once more, "I assume you have an oxygenated and deoxygenated sample?"

"Of course, I obtained them earlier today in hopes of doing my own research."

Kurotsuchi cocked a slightly irritated eyebrow; he disliked the idea that anyone outside of his Squad would step into his niche.

"You have no faith in my abilities."

Unohana kept up her sweet smile.

"I believe you can find the answers I seek, but I will not rely solely on others to help me when I am capable of helping myself. Hanataro is more than just a test subject to me."

Kurotsuchi heard the subtle bitterness in her voice, and smirked angrily.

"Fine, just try not to overstep your boundaries. I like having a specialized Squad."

"I enjoy the niche my Squad holds as well."

Kurotsuchi let out an amused scoff before raising his hand and motioning Nemu towards him.

"Nemu, give me the samples."

The young woman gave her Captain a slight nod before politely asking Unohana for the vials. Upon receiving them, Nemu quickly made her way towards Kurotsuchi. He briefly glanced at his Lieutenant before typing something into his computer, prompting the appearance of two glass chambers.

"…Put the samples in those..."

Nemu did as she was told before moving back to her position next to Captain Unohana. Kurotsuchi typed for several seconds, stopping only once two more blood renderings appeared on the screen. He locked his hands together and rested his chin upon them as he stared at the renderings, mumbling something about nonsense and improbability.

Captain Unohana and Nemu watched his mumbling and typing in silence.

"Captain Unohana."

The aforementioned woman glanced at Nemu; curiosity marked her features as she wondered why Nemu was whispering.

"Yes, Lieutenant Kurotsuchi?"

There was a short pause before Nemu spoke again.

"What is wrong with 7th Seat Yamada?"

"You know Hanataro?"

Nemu looked up at the Captain, revealing to Unohana the slight worry that marked her features.

"I have come into contact with him, but I do not know him as well as his other friends do."

Unohana opened her mouth slightly as she thought of what to say, though all that came out was a sigh. "I am unsure of what is happening to Hanataro, Lieutenant Kurotsuchi," Unohana answered after several seconds of silence, "But I can tell that his condition is worsening."

Kurotsuchi cocked an eyebrow at Unohana's statement.

"How can you tell?"

"His blood keeps darkening and that odd organism within it keeps multiplying."

Kurotsuchi could barely contain the irritated scoff that left his mouth.

"Captain, medicinal research requires me to investigate things such as this odd occurrence within my young subordinate," Unohana smiled as she approached the grumbling man.

"You know about the infiltrator virus and the role it plays?"

"Yes, and I also know about the aggression inducer the apple contained."

"If you know so much, why did you ask for my help," Kurotsuchi grumbled.

"You have a knack for science and it always helps to have a second perspective."

Kurotsuchi grew quiet as he noted the sincerity in Unohana's voice, "…Yes, well, that _is_ true…" He sighed before tapping his desk, "I believed the boy was dying, but the tests I've run indicate that he would actually benefit from the virus. Has he displayed any changes in behavior?"

"The other day, I was informed of an incident in which Hanataro became 'cold and aggressive' in response to the harassment a nurse was receiving from a member of Squad 11. When the man tried to hit one of Hanataro's friends, Hanataro used Flash Step and restrained the man by his wrist. I was surprised to hear that last part; Hanataro lacks the ability to use Flash Step and I highly doubt he could have learned how to perform it within the last three months since his annual review."

"Hmm…could that be what the unknown substance does? Could it be some sort of ability enhancer? It's not impossible…could Aizen be using the boy as a guinea pig…" Kurotsuchi mumbled, scratching his chin.

"Why use a Soul Reaper when he could use one of his Arrancar? I doubt their Hollow origins-"

"Hollow! That's it, how could I have overlooked it," Kurotsuchi exclaimed, snapping his fingers before typing rapidly. The screen flashed for a brief moment before several folders opened. Kurotsuchi paused for a moment and squinted at the screen before closing several of the folders, leaving only two open. He enlarged them and scrolled down one of them, clicking on several of its subfolders before backing out and closing the main one.

He set his sight on the remaining one and scrolled down before finding what he was looking for.

_**(April 5th, Day 4)**_

Hanataro let out a small yawn as he woke from his relatively peaceful sleep. He was curious about why he was sleeping at the foot of his bed, but quickly remembered that awful letter he read. A sick feeling slithered around his stomach as he reread the letter's vulgar words in his frightened mind, but it quickly disappeared once he noticed the black cat curled up next to him.

A smile crossed his face as the furry creature stretched her legs as she dreamed of catnip and milk, letting out quiet purrs of joy.

"I would rather be surrounded by some of my human friends, but a cat is fine."

He gently scratched the sleeping cat's exposed belly before getting to his feet and stretching. After that, he headed to his closet and pulled out a clean Soul Reaper uniform before heading into his bathroom to take a shower.

-**0**-

_**Cat and the Sloth**_

-**1**-

Hanataro stepped out of the bathroom after his preparations for work were done. A small smile was on his face as he walked over to his bed and grabbed the medical sack lying on it. He looked at Yoruichi, who was looking up at him with her gentle yellow eyes, and scratched her behind her ears.

"I'm about to go to work, but you can stay here or come with me if you-ah!"

Yoruichi suddenly leapt from the bed and landed gracefully on the boy's shoulder before he could finish his sentence. "Well, I guess that means you want to come with me," Hanataro chuckled before making his way towards his front door.

-**4****th**** Squad HQ**-

May was quietly leaning against a wall outside the 4th Squad HQ, her arms folded as she frowned at the tiled ground. Soifon's grip on Hanataro was growing stronger and, at this rate, he'd be her slave for the rest of his natural born life. May had to do _something_, but what that _something_ was eluded her.

"I have to step my game up… but how… Oh!"

She snapped her fingers as an idea crossed her mind.

-**1**-

Hanataro arrived ten or so minutes later with a cat resting on his shoulders, a sight that puzzled May a bit. He never mentioned owning a cat; then again, _she_ never mentioned owning a crow.

"Good morning, Hanataro," she sweetly smiled at the boy as he approached her, "Did you lose a bet or something?"

Hanataro tilted his head to the side as he wondered what she meant. A second or ten passed before May pointed towards the cat resting on the young healer's shoulders, which caused him to exclaim his understanding. He laughed as he scratched the cat's furry head, "I get it! This is Noir, a stray cat I found at Soifon-da! I mean, she's a cat I found at _Captain_ Soifon's house."

Hanataro let out a nervous laugh at his slip; May gave him a fake smile that hid her boiling anger.

Yoruichi stared at the girl as she sensed the unnatural spiritual pressure emanating from her. She had sensed this kind of spiritual pressure before, but the thought that this girl could be an Arrancar boggled her mind.

"_Spiritual pressure varies from owner to owner."_

Yoruichi nodded once she remembered that bit of information, but she still felt uneasy around the girl. Even if the oddity was just an abnormal variation of spiritual pressure, May herself was suspicious.

It seemed rude to point this out, but her appearance is rather odd upon closer examination.

Her hair was unusually stiff against the heavy breeze that occasionally blew by, despite the fact that she was obviously not using hair gel. Her clothing looked freshly ironed and smooth, no matter how many times she folded her arms or played with her sleeves.

The only thing that looked natural was her face and those deep blue eyes of hers. Looking into the latter only seemed to heighten Yoruichi's uneasiness.

"I'm not sure…" Hanataro stammered as he and May took a seat on a nearby bench, bringing Yoruichi's attention back to their conversation, "I don't want you to waste-"

"Hanataro," May frowned, raising her hand to silence him, "I want to help you, and my time is my time, so I'll waste it how I think it should be wasted."

She smiled sincerely at him, causing him to blush as he gave her a bashful smile. "Alright, I know the perfect place to train," Hanataro nodded as he stood up and stretched his arms, "Right now, we should hurry and get some work done. After I give Noir back to Captain Soifon, I'll show you where I train."

Even the mention of her dreaded enemy's name could not dampen May's mood.

"That sounds like a great idea!"

Hanataro gave her a slight nod before heading inside 4th Squad HQ, missing the sly smile that marked the girl's features.

"I won't let her win that easily."

-**Fon Estate, Soifon's Room**-

"Who would do such a thing," Soifon growled as she reread the letter Yoruichi had shown her. The dark-skinned woman was amazed to see how worked up Soifon was getting over this, which showed her just how much her former student cared for the boy.

"Do you have any idea who could have done this?"

"You'd probably have a better idea than I do…" Yoruichi responded, shrugging her shoulders. A smirk appeared on the woman's face, "I pity the people who wrote that letter; I'm more than sure you'll tear them apart once you find them."

"Damn right I will!"

Yoruichi let out a light chuckle. "You must really like Hanataro."

Soifon paused for a moment before looking away in order to hide her growing blush.

"May I assume that you are _not _going to refute that? Hmm?"

"Sh-shut it…"

The 2nd Squad Captain then let out a sigh and glanced at the note before giving it back to Yoruichi, prompting the dark-skinned woman to cock an eyebrow.

"Oh, you don't want it?"

"Put it back in Hanataro's room…" Soifon sigh, heading out to her balcony. She leaned against the railing and stared out at the forest, wondering whether Hanataro would be out there.

Yoruichi looked at the note before giving Soifon a curious look, "Why?"

She didn't reply, focused solely on her thoughts.

Yoruichi shrugged her shoulders, "Alright, if that's what you want."

With that, Yoruichi disappeared and Soifon let out another sigh before leaping from her balcony.

-**Forest**-

"You have to grip it tighter when you go to swing, Hanataro," May told him, swiping at a nearby tree to demonstrate. Hanataro nodded and tried to mimic her movements only to fall over when he swung too hard. His face turned red when he realized that instead of falling to the ground he fell comfortably into May's arms, "You're so clumsy, Hanataro."

She let out a small laugh and smiled sweetly at him, holding him a bit closer. He shrunk back a bit and looked away from her. His eyes slowly turned yellow and an unfamiliar voice rang in his mind, "_What are you afraid of? We both know how you feel… just give in… What's the harm in doing so?_"

"_You're in my way!_"

Hanataro let out a sharp gasp and fell to his knees, clutching his head as a sharp pain passed through it. "Hanataro, what's wrong," May frantically asked him as she knelt down.

He shook his head and got back to his feet, smiling nervously, "I'm fine… it was just a small headache…"

May gave him a worried smile, "If you say-"

She abruptly stopped and turned around, sensing a familiar spiritual pressure approaching. A low growl escaped her as she identified it as belonging to Soifon, which irritated her to no end. "May… what's wrong," Hanataro timidly asked, sensing the irritation radiating from the girl. He nearly jumped back when May spun around with a mischievous smirk on her face.

"Everything's just fine…" she said, lunging at him. He let out a small yelp as she gripped his shoulders and pulled him closer, staring into his eyes with a lustful sparkle. She moved closer, closing the distance between their faces and… stopped.

In fact, everything around her stopped.

She looked into Hanataro's eyes and trembled with self-loathing when all she saw in them was confusion and fear. "This…this isn't how I want Hanataro…" she whispered, loosening her grip on his shoulders, "Scared and confused… I don't want… _this_…"

May shook her head and, with a fierce determination, let out a powerful yell before tossing Hanataro over her shoulder and into a nearby tree.

"Time to work on some CQC, Hanataro," she exclaimed, a determined smile on her face.

"Owww…you're worse than Kitty…" Hanataro groaned as he pulled himself from the ground, rubbing his aching back and head.

"I hope… I'm not interrupting anything..."

Hanataro's attention immediately snapped to his left upon hearing the 2nd Squad Captain's voice. She wore a dark blue kimono with golden embroidery; it was heavy enough to fight back the chill of the night air, yet it was also light enough that her movement was not hindered by it. As she stepped into the moonlight, Hanataro could make out the faintest smile on her lips.

"Soifon… I…" He quickly rose to his feet and gave her a bow. "Captain Soifon… Hello."

The smile on her face faded into her usual countenance and she glanced at May. Her eyes narrowed upon the strange girl ever so slightly as the Captain took notice of her odd spiritual pressure. Not only was it odd… it was familiar…

"Captain Soifon…" May gave her a wide smile and bowed slightly. "…Welcome to our little training ground."

Soifon cocked an eyebrow before turning her attention back to Hanataro. "You two are training here?" Hanataro nods and May answers in the affirmative. "Oh? Maybe I could be of assistance."

The fake smile May wore instantly died.

"Ar-are you sure? I mean, it's bad enough that I'm causing may to waste her time-"

"Hanataro," Soifon frowned, raising her hand to silence him, "I want to help you, and my time is my time, so I'll waste it how I think it should be wasted."

May stared at the Captain.

"_I want to help you… how I think it should be wasted…_"

Her jaw dropped and her body soon dropped with it.

"Ma-May!"

"…_She __**stole **__my line…_"

-**Author**-

**Charles: **"Took you long enough…"

**Author: **"I kinda sorta lost my muse for the story after mulling over the first part of the chapter. I'm no doctor, but I did a little research about blood before writing the first half of this chapter. It still didn't feel right so I sulked and flew over to Japan for some Blade Master training…"

"Anyways, I planned on uploading this in February, but I got distracted. I'm still getting back into the swing of writing this. I'll be working on the next chapter and it should be up sometime around 3/11/2012. Also, Cat and the Sloth is a one-shot I plan on making dealing with Yoruichi's brief stay with Hanataro. Also, also, the bit with Nemu knowing Hanataro will be expanded on in a story I'm planning on making involving Hanataro, Ichigo, and Renji working with clay and the SWA."


End file.
